AMD’s 64-bit Revolution (PCGH Retro, August 10)

…2000: It is an important step in the development of the x86 processor, which has so far only been pushed by Intel: On August 10, 2000, AMD will present the x86-64 architecture of the upcoming “Hammer” processor family (K8) in more detail, from the the server CPU Opteron years later the Athlon 64 emerges. The manufacturer celebrates the expansion of the x86 instruction set as a revolution; In fact, this is the first major expansion that did not come from x86 inventor Intel – Intel made the jumps from 8 to 16 and from 16 to 32 bits itself. Later, Intel also acknowledged the importance of this step and adopted the technology developed by AMD for their own Pentium processors – albeit without much announcement. You can also read our AMD Inside article about the Dresdner Fab 30, which has meanwhile been spun off into the company Globalfoundries, in which AMD initially held only a small stake and later no longer held any shares.