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AMD to intro K8 at Microprocessor Forum

Things happen quickly in this industry

Fresh from the successful hype of its K7 (Athlon) family, AMD is now gearing up for the K8, its 64-bit follow-up. The company goes public on the K8 at, next month's Microprocessor Forum -- we understand. But the clone chip firm refuses to confirm or deny such a chip is on the cards. AMD reckons it's piling the pressure on Intel with the K7. And a quick introduction of the K8 would certainly give something for Chipzilla to think about. AMD aims turn up the heat by launching its next generation of (64-bit) processors within months -- and it has enlisted top chip engineer Jim Keller (a former Alpha male)to make it happen. He worked on the Alpha 21264 - a seriously out of order chip. He is likely to make the K8 seriously out of order too, meaning Intel will feel seriously out of order. The step up from 32-bit Athlon K7 to a 64-bit K8 (Octathlon?) chip is relatively trivial to achieve, we are led to understand, from sources close to the company's plans. So the 64-bit chip scene could look fairly crowded next year, with competing flavours from Compaq, Intel -- and now AMD. Compaq and Intel will also take steps to make sure the developer community is aware of their future 64-bit plans. Compaq already has a 64-bit chip while Intel's Merced is close to fruition. ®

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