AMD saddles up Athlon 64 FX-53 at tech show

 

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By Alun Williams

Posted on 19 Mar 2004 at 12:39

AMD has used the CeBit show to announce the release of its AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 processor.

Aimed at 'power-hungry enthusiasts, gamers, and prosumers', the FX processor runs at 2.4GHz and comes with a total cache of 1,152 KB (128KB L1 + 1024KB L2). It uses the same 940-pin architecture as its predecessor, the FX-51.

AMD emphases the multimedia and gaming strengths of the 64-bit processing chip. Specifically, the range of memory that can be addressed for 3D modelling, shading and texturing.

'With the AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 processor in your PC, you're in for the ride of your life,' said Marty Seyer, general manager of AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit. 'AMD understands that extreme PC users crave performance; they demand graphic images that are nearly indistinguishable from reality. AMD continues to push the bounds of cinematic computing to satisfy those cravings. We know they will enjoy the AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 processor.'

Being based on the traditional x86 architecture, the processor can also run 32-bit apps natively. A tie in with the games developer Ubisoft demonstrates this point. A 32-bit version of the 3D 'Far Cry' is expected to be released before the end of the month, but an AMD-optimised 64-bit version will also be available 'shortly thereafter'.

The AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 processor is priced at $733, based on 1,000-unit orders. Its initial availability will be limited, warns AMD, but the company expects to fulfil demand within the next few weeks.

Expect to see the chip in machines from the likes of Evesham, Mesh and Time.

The PC Pro review of the Evesham Axis 64 FX-53

You can find more info about the FX-53 and Athlon 64 technology on the AMD website.