-AMD Opteron(tm) processors and Microsoft's 64-bit software technology offer customers large and small increased performance, efficiency and cost savings-
SUNNYVALE, Calif.-Nov. 9, 2005-AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced a variety
of customers are embracing the powerful combination of Dual-Core AMD
Opteron(tm) processors, Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions, Microsoft SQL
Server 2005, and Visual Studio 2005 to improve business processes.
Customers who demand leading-edge performance are rapidly recognizing
and embracing the speed, price and efficiency advantages offered by
AMD64 and Microsoft x64 innovations.
"As evidenced by AMD's growing market share and record-setting
benchmarks, AMD Opteron processors provide the highest level of
performance that businesses can buy today," said Ben Williams, vice
president, Commercial Business, AMD. "Together with allies like
Microsoft, AMD is enabling solutions that can help customers realize
new-levels of performance, efficiency and cost savings. This is enabling
businesses large and small to use AMD technology to gain a competitive
advantage in the market."
As indicated by top scores in industry standard benchmarks and
testimonials from numerous users, AMD64 technology helps Microsoft SQL
Server 2005 customers gain a competitive advantage when handling
critical business functions. In fact, HP ProLiant DL585 server, powered
by Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors Model 880, is the only currently
shipping server to break the TPC-C 200K transaction score for four-way
x86 servers. Additionally, Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors with Direct
Connect Architecture offer these significant performance gains while
delivering the industry's best performance-per-watt. Together with
Microsoft SQL Server 2005's advanced performance and scalability
features, companies can rapidly conduct transactions, serve information
and move data quickly due to the memory
addressability provided by Microsoft Windows x64 Edition operating
systems and the memory bandwidth of AMD Opteron processors.
"64-bit technology enables multi-gigabyte main memory configurations
that in turn enable huge performance gains for database management
software," observed Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.
"Until recently, these performance advantages were available only to
users of systems based on proprietary processors and operating systems.
Today's release of SQL Server 2005 for x64 systems, combined with
April's release of Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, allows users to
retain the economic benefits of systems based on industry-standards like
the AMD Opteron(tm) processor and still gain the performance benefits of
64-bit DBMS software operation."
Agnostic Media
Agnostic Media, Inc. offers an integrated, comprehensive, and cohesive
platform for managing and distributing digital media. One of its
specialties is transcoding video and film-converting data into a variety
of different formats in order to be distributed and viewed within
different mediums such as televisions, PCs and mobile devices.
"Transcoding is a time, storage, and CPU-intensive process; with
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor as the
core of our systems, we can transcode a two-and-a-half hour movie in 10
minutes, which makes our customers ecstatic" said Jason Turner, chief
executive officer, Agnostic Media. "We have also seen outstanding
database performance running SQL Server 2005 on AMD64. We're
experiencing no less than a 2x performance increase in SQL Server 2005
running on 64-bit dual-core AMD processors. These performance gains
allow us to differentiate our services from the competition and are
helping us secure new business at an extremely rapid rate."
Microsoft Corp. Volume Licensing Business Tools and Analytics Group
Microsoft Corp. Worldwide Licensing and Pricing group is responsible for
creating the tools and analytics that support the company's sales
representatives in the field and the executives who make decisions about
the pricing and licensing strategies. The group, which handles
Microsoft's largest customer relationships, was responsible for driving
$15 billion (U.S.) of business in 2004-about half the company's total
revenue. To handle this volume of business and offer flexible
programs across a broad range of products, they developed the Easy
Pricing and Estimation Tool (EZPET). This solution enabled Microsoft to
gain unprecedented visibility into sales data.
"The power of 64-bit computing is helping us deliver the best customer
and partner experience," said Brent Callinicos, corporate vice
president, World Wide Licensing & Pricing, Microsoft Corp. "Prior to
Microsoft's investment in 64-bit tools, processing the large volume of
data to generate a comprehensive price quote could sometimes take hours.
To remedy this, we developed EZPET with Visual Studio 2005, running on
AMD Opteron processor-based servers with 64-bit SQL Server 2005. The
application improved performance by 99 percent and saved the company $27
million in six months. The results were so strong that we enhanced the
application with deal tracking and reporting capability running on
Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor-based servers."
MySpace
MySpace, a leading social networking and music site, experienced an
astounding growth rate which quickly taxed its 32-bit architecture.
"MySpace was a victim of its own success: the company's user base
rapidly grew to thirty-two million users and our 32-bit solution quickly
became overwhelmed," said Aber Whitcomb, chief technology officer,
MySpace. "Since deploying the Dual-Core AMD Opteron processor,
Windows(tm) Server 2003 x64 Edition and SQL Server 2005 we have
experienced dramatic improvements in performance and stability, allowing
us to sufficiently handle 15 billion transactions per day-thereby
keeping current customers happy as well as admirably servicing and
retaining new users."
For more information on how companies such as Agnostic Media,
Microsoft's Volume Licensing Business Tools and Analytics Group and
MySpace are benefiting from AMD64 systems and Microsoft technologies,
please visit http://www.amd.com/enterprise.
About the AMD Opteron(tm) Processor
More than 85 percent of the top 100 of the Forbes Global 2000 companies
or their subsidiaries, representing the world's most competitive
industries, now use AMD Opteron(tm) processor-based systems to run
applications at new levels of performance. The AMD Opteron processor,
based on AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture, made history
as the industry's first x86 multi-core processor
for servers and workstations that is both 32- and 64-bit capable.
Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors can deliver higher performance within
the same power envelope as single-core processors because they were
designed from the ground up for multi-core computing. With a broad
portfolio of dual-core and single-core solutions and a robust 64-bit
ecosystem, AMD and its customers are leading the way to the next
evolution of enterprise computing.
About AMD
AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash
memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer,
communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to
delivering standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology
users, ranging from enterprises and governments to individual consumers.
For more information visit http://www.amd.com