AMD brings first low-voltage 64bit chips to laptops

By Alun Williams

Posted on 6 May 2004 at 12:17

AMD has announced two new 64-bit processors for notebooks. The first such low voltage chips are the mobile AMD Athlon 64 2800+ and 2700+.

With their low power requirements, these chips bring the AMD64 platform to the slimmer and lighter end of the notebook market. AMD claims a 44 per cent lower power consumption (at 35 watts) than the mainstream mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor.

Based on the traditional x86 architecture, AMD's 64 bit chips can run existing 32-bit applications without translation, smoothing the path to the adoption of full 64-bit environments.

AMD states that the chips also offer an Enhanced Virus Protection security feature, which will be enabled with Windows XP Service Pack 2 - a point made by Marty Seyer, general manager of AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit.

'AMD was the first to combine high-performance 32-bit computing with a 64-bit turbocharger in your backpack and on your desk,' said Seyer. 'Now, thinner and lighter notebooks can be fuelled with this same cutting-edge performance plus security enhancements to be enabled by the upcoming Windows XP SP2.'

Pricing for the new low power 2800+ and 2700+ is $241 and $209, respectively.

As DigiTimes reported, Acer will be using the new chips in another Ferrari branded notebook. The Ferrari 3200 features an AMD Athlon 64 2800+ with an ATI Mobility 9700 graphics card with 128MB of DDR memory.