AMD Athlon 64
AMD
Specifications
- CPU
- Athlon 64 / FX, Socket 754 / 939, 1.8 – 2.6 GHz
- Memory
- 1 – 4 GB DDR (on-die memory controller)
- Storage
- 120 – 500 GB SATA
- Display
- PCI Express x16, mid-2000s GeForce / Radeon
- OS
- Windows XP, Windows XP x64, Linux
- Intro price
- $733 chip launch, full systems $1,500+
The machine
AMD beat Intel to consumer 64-bit and forced Intel to license its x86-64 instruction set (rebranded EM64T, later Intel 64). The integrated memory controller — moving DRAM management onto the CPU die — gave Athlon 64 lower memory latency and broke a design assumption Intel held onto for several more years.
Why it matters
x86-64 became the dominant 64-bit instruction set on Earth and is what every modern PC and server CPU implements (with extensions). For a few years in the mid-2000s, AMD's product line was simply better than Intel's.