Leading chipset partners extend PCI Express support for AMD64 desktop platforms.

AMD (NYSE:AMD) has announced PCI Express support from leading chipset manufacturers, offering performance-hungry customers additional graphics bandwidth and improved I/O for gaming and multimedia applications. PCI Express is a next-generation graphics-to-chipset interface which dramatically increases throughput capability, providing added bandwidth for tomorrow's graphic-intensive applications.

Combining the bandwidth of PCI Express connectivity with HyperTransport technology, as well as the latest high-performance graphics cards and peripheral devices, customers can continue to unleash the full-performance potential of AMD64 technology.

"AMD customers now have access to a most impressive choice combination in PCI Express coupled with the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor, which has been blowing away the competition on industry performance benchmarks," said Marty Seyer, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit, CPG. "Our customers want choice, which they now have with AMD64 and PCI Express. It is an ideal compliment to HyperTransport technology, and is expected to dramatically increase graphics and data transmission rates, enhancing the cinematic-quality experience offered by AMD Athlon 64 processors."

Partners ATI, NVIDIA, SiS, ULi and VIA will be offering a broad range of PCI Express solutions for AMD64 desktop platforms.

"PCI Express represents a significant technology transition, enabling the development and deployment of more visually intensive, high-bandwidth applications and multimedia," said Phil Eisler, senior vice president and general manager, ATI's Chipset and Mobile Business Unit. "By leveraging ATI's PCI Express technology leadership and AMD's strength in simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing, we are delivering a full family of high-performance chipsets that address the diverse needs of the consumer and commercial desktop markets."

"The majority of NVIDIA's customers work and play with graphic-intensive applications, so providing them the choice of PCI Express connectivity is critical," said Drew Henry, general manager of platform business, NVIDIA Corporation. "The AMD Athlon 64 FX processor is the processor of choice for extreme gaming and multimedia applications, and we consider it strategic to support it as well as the other flavors of the AMD processor family."

"SiS has been working to complete the PCI Express product line to support cutting-edge technology and satisfy performance-driven users," said Daniel Chen, president and CEO of SiS. "With this capability and AMD Athlon 64 processors, PC users can take advantage of this huge step forward for desktop PC 3D graphics."

"We are pleased to provide this exciting technology in both graphics and I/O bus interfaces for our next-generation chipsets," said Alex Kuo, president of ULi Electronics Inc. "Our unique, thorough solutions can bring overall system performance to the next level. ULi is working together with AMD to provide top-notch chipset solutions for AMD Athlon 64 processor-based platforms while maximizing the benefits of ground-breaking technologies such as PCI Express."

"With the introduction of our PCI Express chipset line, customers can be assured of a future-proof platform that can truly unleash the power of AMD64 technology," said Richard Brown, associate vice president of marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Our flexible PCI Express implementations along with AMD Athlon 64 processors can deliver the bandwidth and performance needed by the latest peripheral devices such as high-performance graphic cards for gaming and workstations, HDTV tuner cards for multimedia PCs, and blazing Gigabit Ethernet connections for the office."

AMD Athlon 64 processors are the first 32- and 64-bit desktop and mobile processors designed with Enhanced Virus Protection (EVP) capabilities. When enabled by Windows XP Service Pack 2, EVP offers an additional level of integrated security to home PCs that are often continuously connected to the Internet.(1) AMD Athlon 64 processors also provide innovative system-level features including Cool'n'Quiet technology. An advancement in PC technology, Cool'n'Quiet offers efficient performance-on-demand, allowing an "always on" PC to run quietly.