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AMD INTRODUCES THE 650 MHz ATHLON PROCESSOR, THE FASTEST, MOST POWERFUL ENGINE FOR x86 COMPUTING

SUNNYVALE, CA--AUGUST 9, 1999--AMD today introduced the 650MHz AMD Athlon™ processor, the world's fastest and highest-performance microprocessor for x86 computer systems. The AMD Athlon family is designed to deliver unprecedented performance for cutting-edge commercial and consumer software applications running on high-end desktop systems, workstations, and servers.

The AMD Athlon processor is available in speed grades of 650, 600, 550, and 500 MHz. At 650MHz, the AMD Athlon is the world's fastest x86 processor.

"With today's announcement, AMD has made history: we've delivered the first seventh-generation processor family, featuring the industry's most advanced microarchitecture and enabling the most powerful x86 platform solution on the planet," said W.J. Sanders III, chairman and chief executive officer of AMD. "Simply put, the AMD Athlon processor is a 'no-compromise' chip for a new generation of high-performance PCs. With the debut of our 650MHz product, AMD is setting the pace in the megahertz race, as well as setting the performance standard to which all x86 processors will be compared."

Setting a New Performance Standard for x86 Processors
The AMD Athlon processor's seventh-generation microarchitecture, superscalar floating point engine, and high-bandwidth, 200MHz system bus enable it to achieve performance levels never before attained by an x86 processor. The AMD Athlon significantly outperforms previous-generation processors, such as Intel's Pentium® III product family, and delivers the highest floating point, integer, and 3D multimedia performance for x86 system platforms.

Superior floating point performance: Clock for clock, AMD Athlon processor-based systems deliver significantly better floating point performance than comparably configured Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon systems, according to the SPECfp_base95 and Ziff-Davis 3D WinBench™ 99 FPU WinMark benchmarks. For example, a 550MHz AMD Athlon processor has more than 35 percent higher performance than either a 550MHz Pentium III or a Pentium III Xeon on the SPECfp_base95 benchmark.

Superior integer performance: AMD Athlon processor-based systems outperform comparably configured Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon systems on a variety of integer benchmarks, including SPECint_base95 and Ziff-Davis Business Winstone® 99 on Windows® 98 and Windows NT® 4.0. Clock for clock, the AMD Athlon processor outperforms the Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon, according to BAPCo's SYSmark benchmark for Windows NT 4.0.

Superior 3D multimedia performance: AMD Athlon processor-based systems deliver clearly superior 3D performance when compared to comparably configured Pentium III systems, according to leading 3D benchmarks, such as Ziff-Davis 3D WinBench 99 v1.2 (Null Driver and Transform & Lighting versions) and FutureMark's 3DMark™ 99 MAX (3DMarks and CPU 3DMarks).

Enabling the Ultimate Computing Experience
The AMD Athlon processor's unmatched x86 performance and next-generation features combine to give users an unprecedented computing experience, whether running standard productivity software or the latest computation-intensive commercial, Internet, scientific, and consumer applications. Systems powered by the AMD Athlon processor outperform comparably configured Pentium III processor-based systems on a long list of high-end commercial, workstation, data streaming, digital imaging, digital content creation, and consumer entertainment software applications. These cutting-edge applications include Adobe's Photoshop 5.0 and PhotoDeluxe 3.0, Autodesk's AutoCAD 2000 and 3D Studio MAX, Dragon Systems' Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software, Microsoft's Windows Media Encoder, Ligos' LSX-MPEG Encoder, LizardTech's MrSID Publisher for image compression, Geometrix's 3Scan 3D modeling software, and id Software's Quake II.

Optimized Infrastructure Support for the AMD Athlon™ Processor
AMD's third-party infrastructure suppliers plan to deliver optimized chipsets, BIOS, and motherboard solutions that support the AMD Athlon processor. To enable the initial chipset solution for AMD Athlon processor-based systems, AMD has developed the AMD-750™ chipset, a complete system logic solution that features system and peripheral bus controllers designed to enhance performance for AMD Athlon processors.

Major third-party chipset suppliers, including VIA Technologies, Acer Laboratories Inc. (ALi), and SiS, plan to deliver high-performance chipsets optimized for the AMD Athlon.

Optimized BIOS support for the AMD Athlon processor is available from leading third-party suppliers including American Megatrends, Inc., Award Software International, and Phoenix Technologies.

Production motherboards can be ordered today from leading vendors, including Microstar, Gigabyte, Asus, and FIC. Additional motherboard products from other vendors are planned to be available this quarter.

Leading 3D graphics accelerator suppliers, including nVidia, 3dfx, Matrox and ATI Technologies Inc., are delivering optimized versions of their graphics drivers to support the AMD Athlon processor. S3 also plans to deliver optimized graphics drivers.

Delivering Seventh-Generation Features for Computing Systems
The AMD Athlon processor is an x86-compatible, seventh-generation design featuring a superpipelined, nine-issue superscalar microarchitecture optimized for high clock frequency; the industry's first fully pipelined, superscalar floating point unit for x86 platforms; high-performance cache technology, including 128KB of on-chip level-one (L1) cache and a programmable, high-performance backside L2 cache interface; enhanced 3DNow!™ technology with 24 new instructions designed to improve integer math calculations, data movement for Internet streaming, and DSP communications; and the AMD Athlon system bus -- a 200MHz system interface based on the Alpha™ EV6 bus protocol with support for scalable multiprocessing. The initial versions of the AMD Athlon processor are manufactured on AMD's 0.25-micron process technology in Fab 25 in Austin, Texas.

AMD Athlon Processor to Debut in Retail, Direct and Reseller Channels
Shipments of AMD Athlon processors to system manufacturers began late last quarter, as previously announced. AMD Athlon processor-based desktop systems are expected to be available for sale this month. Dozens of leading system manufacturers worldwide, including such top-10 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as Compaq and IBM, plan to use the AMD Athlon processor in high-performance desktop systems designed for business power users and computing enthusiasts who demand the highest performance and clock speeds.

"To run today's power-hungry applications, harness the power of the Internet with broadband connections, and be prepared for the high-speed digital power of tomorrow, consumers need the latest in processing power on their PCs," said Tony Dowzall, director and general manager, Presario Desktop Division, Compaq Computer Corporation. "With the new AMD Athlon processor technology onboard, Compaq Presario PCs such as the 5700T, which will be available in September through Compaq's 'Built For You' program and direct, will provide consumers with the computing power they need today and the technology they will crave in the future."

"With the introduction of the new AMD Athlon processor, AMD continues to offer technology to the consumer market that delivers excellent performance enhancements to our Aptiva family," said Harry Nicol, general manager of IBM Consumer Systems. "The new processor is designed to allow our Aptiva systems to deliver a faster, more visually intense Internet experience to our customers."

The AMD Athlon processor is not only powering high-performance desktop systems from leading OEMs, it is also available through distribution to resellers worldwide.

"We are proud that we will be offering the world's most powerful x86 processor to our reseller customers. The fact that we plan to offer the AMD Athlon processor to resellers through distribution underscores our strong, abiding commitment to the reseller market," said Rob Herb, AMD senior vice president and chief marketing executive. "We anticipate more and more resellers will choose to power their commercial 'white box' solutions with the AMD Athlon processor because it offers higher performance at a lower cost."

"The AMD Athlon processor represents the first credible challenge to Intel's position at the high end of the personal computer market. Until now, performance-oriented users had many choices with regard to system vendors, but all these boxes contained identical Intel processors. The AMD Athlon gives suppliers and users more choices, and makes the industry more competitive," said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. "AMD has shown extraordinary innovation and perseverance in its pursuit of high-end x86 processor performance, and its efforts now position the company to enter small business and enterprise markets."

AMD Athlon Processor Pricing and Availability
The 650MHz AMD Athlon processor is priced at $849; the 600MHz AMD Athlon processor is priced at $615; the 550MHz AMD Athlon processor is priced at $449; and the 500MHz AMD Athlon processor is priced at $249, each in 1,000-unit quantities.

Cautionary Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words such as "expects," "plans," "believes," "anticipates," or "intends." Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Forward-looking statements in this release about the AMD Athlon processor involve the risk that AMD will not be able to produce the processor in the volume and speed grades required by customers on a timely basis; that AMD may not be successful in developing an infrastructure to support the processor; that third parties may not provide infrastructure solutions to support the processor; and that the processor will not achieve customer and market acceptance. We urge investors to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the most recently filed Form-10K.

Note to Editor: Readers may obtain additional information by calling 1 (800) 222-9323 or (408) 749-5703. A satellite broadcast feed of a video news release featuring sound bites from W.J. Sanders III, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMD will also be available at four intervals throughout the day. Broadcast times and coordinates are listed as follows:

Feed Date: Monday, August 9, 1999
Feed Time: 6:00 - 6:15 a.m. ET
Coordinates: C-Band: Galaxy 6 (c) /Transponder 7 /Audio 6.2 & 6.8

Re-Feed Date: Monday, August 9, 1999
Re-Feed Time: 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. ET (fed in rotation)
Coordinates: C-Band: Telstar 4 (c) /Transponder 20 /Audio 6.2 & 6.8

Re-Feed Date: Monday, August 9, 1999
Re-Feed Time: 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. ET (fed in rotation)
Coordinates: C-Band: Galaxy 6 (c) /Transponder 9 /Audio 6.2 & 6.8

Re-Feed Date: Monday, August 9, 1999
Re-Feed Time: 4:30 - 4:45 p.m. ET Coordinates: C-Band: Galaxy 6 (c) /Transponder 9 /Audio 6.2 & 6.8

Format: Package TRT 9 minutes 30 seconds
SOTs
B-Roll

An audio news release is available through Medialink radio newsline at 1-800-815-7006.
Photos of the AMD Athlon processor are available at http://www.wirepix.com/newsphotos. Photos and logos are also available at http://www.amd.com/news/news.html.

(This is from the AMD website and you can read the full document here.)