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AMD marches on with new 64-bit Mobile Athlon

Alun Williams Read more October 7, 2009

While the Turion processor represents the 64-bit future for AMD mobile processors, the company is also continuing with Mobile Athlon 64 chips. The new 3700+ is aimed at ‘full-size’ performance notebooks.

The AMD64 processor can run existing 32-bit applications as well as forthcoming x86-based 64-bit applications, such as the 64-bit Editions of Windows that are about to appear. And as well as support for the Enhanced Virus Protection security feature currently supported by XP SP2, there is support for 802.11a/b/g wireless networking and AMD’s PowerNow! and HyperTransport technology, for managing battery life and reducing I/O bottlenecks, respectively.

‘We have again raised the bar for 64-bit mobile performance with the latest addition to our powerful Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor family,’ boasted the general manager of AMD’s Microprocessor Business Unit, Marty Seyer.

He also emphasised AMD’s lead in the market for 64-bit processing for laptops. ‘AMD is unique in delivering 64-bit mobile computing, which is available today. AMD has led the way to a brave new world where 32-bit technology will become a remnant of the past,’ he declared.

The specification of the new 90nm chip includes 128KB of level 1 cache and 1MB of level 2 cache, a front-side bus frequency of 1600MHz and it clocks 2.4GHz.

The Mobile AMD Athlon 64 processor 3700+ is priced at $336, based on 1,000-unit orders, and should be available immediately. The new chip complements existing 3400+, 3200+, 3000+ and 2800+ models.

AMD released the Turion, its next-gen redesign of mobile processors, at the start of March. Notebooks based on the new chip – such as the Acer Aspire 5000 and 5020 series should appear before the end of April.

More information can be found on the Mobile Athlon 64 and Turion sections of the AMD website.