AMD ha pubblicato un importante comunicato stampa mediante il quale ha annunciato ufficialmente la nuova piattaforma AMD Quad FX, destinata a cambiare sensibilmente l'architettura dei nuovi PC e aumentare le prestazioni con gli ambienti di lavoro evoluti, in primis Windows Vista, e le applicazioni multi-threaded di nuova generazione.

I sistemi concepiti in accordo a Quad FX sono implementati mediante l'architettura proprietaria Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) che introduce in ambito desktop la gestione di due socket sulla motherboard (dual-socket), ciascuno dei quali ospita una cpu dual-core della linea Athlon 64 FX-70. Essa è inoltre pronta ad utilizzare i processori quad-core di AMD, che arriveranno sul mercato il prossimo anno (in tal caso il numero di core in gioco salirà a 8, ndr).

I processori AMD Athlon 64 FX-70, FX-72 e FX-74 sono acquistabili on line a partire da oggi, mentre la disponibilità generale a livello mondiale si avrà solo all'inizio del 2007. Una coppia di tali cpu in versione boxed (PIB) costa rispettivamente $599, $799 e $999. I primi computer basati sulla piattaforma Quad FX saranno disponibili "a breve" presso i maggiori system builder.

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. -- November 30, 2006 --Charting another industry first for computing enthusiasts, AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the AMD Quad FX Platform with Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture, the first dual-socket, multi-core desktop PC platform designed to take advantage of the latest enhancements in Windows Vista Ultimate. As the supreme AMD platform for megatasking enthusiasts, the AMD Quad FX Platform is designed to redefine performance on the latest generation of multi-threaded applications.

The AMD Quad FX Platform is powered by pairs of the AMD Athlon 64 FX-70 series dual-core processors, the newest additions to the award-winning AMD Athlon 64 FX processor family. The new platform takes enthusiasts on a megatasking thrill ride, allowing them to make the most of their overall computing experience while gaming, editing audio/video and streaming high-definition content.

As consumers look forward to enhanced PC experiences made possible by Microsoft Windows Vista, and the software industry moves to a multi-threading environment, the AMD Quad FX Platform is poised to meet the needs of enthusiasts who “megatask” - running multiple, demanding applications and multi-threaded games. With the introduction of Dual Socket Direct Connect Architecture, consumers can count on a platform that scales with their compute-intensive applications today and tomorrow given that the platform is designed for a seamless upgrade path to a total of eight processing cores with planned AMD native quad-core processors in 2007.

“The emergence of a dual-socket consumer platform is critical for enthusiasts who demand systems that offer the sheer power and system headroom to let the enthusiast configure this system to his or her heart’s content, and launch a fleet of entertainment and productivity applications at once,” said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president, Desktop Division, AMD. “AMD is redefining performance by enabling our customers to take advantage of the amazing megatasking capability of two AMD Athlon 64 FX-70 series processors in the AMD Quad FX Platform.”

With AMD64 technology and Dual Socket Direct Connect Architecture, the new AMD Quad FX Platform offers scaleable performance enhancements on a personal workstation powered by AMD Athlon 64 FX processors. In addition, this consumer powerhouse platform is designed with next-generation platform innovations such as high-performance, low-latency unbuffered DDR2 memory and for Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) support with compatible operating systems.

“Windows Vista Ultimate is designed to take advantage of next-generation technology like AMD’s Quad FX Platform to provide amazing experiences for computer enthusiasts,” said Mike Sievert, corporate vice president, Windows, Microsoft. “With support for multi-core platforms growing in the industry, customers can look forward to more innovation from Microsoft and technology partners like AMD—innovation that provides truly immersive experiences in gaming and other high-performance applications.”

“Alienware and AMD have worked together for years to ensure the enthusiast community receives the best possible products and we were excited to showcase AMD’s megatasking powerhouse, the AMD Quad FX Platform at DigitalLife in New York last October,” said Mark Vena, Alienware’s Vice President of Marketing. “Alienware believes that the AMD Quad FX Platform is going to enable new levels of digital content and immersive entertainment applications with consumers and business professionals while our long-time relationship with AMD signifies exciting things to come in the future.”

NVIDIA, the chipset and multi-GPU launch partner for the AMD Quad FX platform, is excited about the potential of an enthusiast AMD dual-socket platform. “NVIDIA is pleased to be the launch partner for the launch of the new AMD Quad FX multi-GPU Platforms," said Drew Henry, general manager of MCP business at NVIDIA. "Our GeForce 8 series of graphics processing units and the NVIDIA nForce 680a media and communications processor deliver an ideal solution for megatasking enthusiasts who look to AMD and NVIDIA to provide the best products for multi-threaded games and applications.”

“VoodooPC shares AMD’s commitment to drive cool technologies that deliver more exciting, immersive and personalized entertainment experiences to our customers,” said Rahul Sood, chief technologist, Global Gaming business unit, HP. “The AMD Quad FX Platform could very well open a new world of significant possibilities to address the insane demands of enthusiasts.”

With the flexibility of the AMD Quad FX Platform, systems can be configured to support a variety of enthusiast needs, including those of aspiring audio/video content creators.

Dan Gregoire is a digital artist who counts many of the world’s top movie and advertising studios among his satisfied customers. As an innovator of the digital 3-D story-boarding technique called “pre-visualization” that is sweeping the film industry, he clearly understands the need for speed, performance and the all important upgrade path offered by AMD multi-core technology.

“We’ve been able to consistently increase the value we...