Dell’s Studio One 19 All-in-One System Fits Anywhere in the Home

Dell today announced the Studio One 19, a beautiful all-in-one computer that looks just as good in the living room as it does the kitchen. The optional touch capability provides the optimal experience for moms and their kids as they peruse photos from Spring Break and other family events. The Studio One 19 is ideal for the shared computing experience, especially in family areas where people can effortlessly view and move photos, manage music and review home work.

• Combining the Latest Computing Experience with Contemporary Look
• Beautiful Design and Innovative Features Take Shared Computing to New Level

“The new Studio One 19 is as nice to look at as it is functional,” said Alex Gruzen, senior vice president of Dell’s Consumer products. “More and more people are making the kitchen the center of their entertainment and computing experience and the Studio One 19 is the ideal system for that need. The Studio One 19 is about lifestyle and design and is very affordable for the family.”

The Studio One 19 is made with beautiful aluminum, glass and fabric that make a style statement that people will want on display in their home rather than hidden. A single power cord means a much neater computing environment and experience. The Studio One 19 comes in several colors, including Solid Pure White, Tuscan Red, Navy Blue, Powder Pink and Charcoal.

The Studio One 19 will be available in select Japan retail outlets including Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera. The system will launch in many other countries later this spring. Starting price for the Studio One 19 is $699.

Innovative Software from Dell:

• Easy multi-touch photo editing, slideshow creation, playlist compilation, notes, and even web browsing.
• Unleash creativity with You Paint finger painting software.
• Record videos and upload directly to YouTube with the touch of a finger.
• Flick to Flickr – Upload photos to Flickr to share with family and friends.
• Create a musical masterpiece with the multi-touch percussion center.

Power & Performance:

• Intel Celeron, Dual Core Celeron, Pentium Dual Core, Core 2 Duo, and Core 2 Quad Core Processor options
• Choice of nVidia GeForce 9200 or GeForce 9400 integrated graphics
• Up to 4GB dual channel memory
• Up to 750GB HDD
• Slot load Optical drive
• 7-in-1 media card reader, six USB ports
• Optional integrated wireless, web camera, Blu-ray Disc
• Optional multi-touch capability
• Optional facial recognition security (with webcam)

AMD Demonstrates Optimized Executions of Havok Middleware on AMD platforms

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and Havok, the premier provider of interactive software for physics simulation and content development, are presenting new, optimized executions of Havok’s physics middleware on AMD platforms at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. The demonstrations include the first OpenCL supported execution of Havok Cloth.

• Balanced Platform of CPU + GPU Processing Delivers Optimal Game Experience

Havok offers a complete modular suite of products that help visual and interactive content developers create more realistic games and cinematic special effects. As the latest software developer to take advantage of ATI Stream technology to leverage multi-core architectures and accelerate execution of highly parallel functions, like real-time cloth simulation, Havok will enable game developers to offer improved performance and interactivity across a broad range of OpenCL capable PCs. AMD has recently introduced optimized platform technologies, such as “Dragon” desktop platform technology, which balance performance between the CPU and GPU with ATI Stream technology to deliver outstanding value.

“Havok is committed to delivering highly optimized cross-platform solutions to our game customers and we are pleased to be working with AMD to ensure that gamers enjoy a great user experience when running Havok-powered games on AMD platforms,” said David Coghlan, vice president of development for Havok. “Unlocking the parallel processing capability of AMD’s hardware provides real advantages to our customers, and the greater the total computing resources available, the better the gaming experience developers can deliver.”

"Havok’s awesome toolset has allowed us to deliver astonishing physics interactions in our games, including detailed real-time destruction and complex ragdoll models, and we are excited about using ATI Stream technology to pursue more astounding in-game accomplishments,” said Andrey Iones, chief operating officer of Saber Interactive. “We are excited that AMD and Havok are working together and leveraging an open standard like OpenCL.”

AMD Announces Next-Generation, Platform-Agnostic Tools for Increased Game Development Efficiency

AMD today announced the availability of GPU PerfStudio 2.0, a free, platform-agnostic, next-generation AMD graphics application development tool for game developers, obtainable through a closed beta program. GPU PerfStudio 2.0 has been designed from the ground up to easily integrate with existing projects, and help to identify and resolve performance issues early in the development cycle. With these tools, AMD is bringing its unparalleled understanding of 3D graphics technology and the leadership of its line of ATI Radeon graphics cards to bear on the development process.

• GPU PerfStudio 2.0 offers developers new features and flexibility to help cut development time and improve game performance

"The GPU PerfStudio 2.0 suite of tools is extensive, customizable and, most importantly, based on open standards, which is critical for developers looking to integrate them into their existing workflows," said Neal Robison, director, Developer Relations, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "AMD is committed to arming developers with a full complement of hardware and development tools that help increase their development efficiency and improve 3D performance quality."

New Features Help Reduce Development Time

With GPU PerfStudio 2.0, AMD is introducing a newly written GPU Performance Analysis tool and an extensive feature set including:

• Frame Debugger, allowing developers to freeze applications on a single frame for detailed inspection;
• Shader Debugger, for the live debugging of HLSL and ASM pixel shaders; and Frame Profiler, which quickly identifies performance bottlenecks and optimization opportunities.

In internal testing of GPU PerfStudio 2.0, AMD software engineers measured significant time savings when searching for and resolving issues within games.

The new tools are immediately accessible to all game developers, requiring no modifications to existing code. GPU PerfStudio 2.0 delivers instant benefits to developers, enabling them to quickly identify algorithm and performance issues early in the development process, avoiding the hassle of discovering problems later in the development cycle and having to re-code particular game segments to get around them.

Flexible support, including the latest DirectX 10.1 games

GPU PerfStudio 2.0 offers a number of unique capabilities that set it apart from other application development tools offered today, including support for DirectX 10.1 enabling the production of the most advanced gaming titles possible today.

GPU PerfStudio 2.0 also offers platform flexibility with native support for 32-bit and 64-bit applications, including the ability to debug 32-bit applications on a 64-bit system. Developers also have the freedom to run GPU PerfStudio 2.0 on a different system from the application being debugged for a more flexible workflow.

The new tools also makes navigating often complicated cross-vendor development issues a thing of the past, taking a platform-agnostic approach to hardware support. No custom drivers are required in order to utilize the full feature set available on ATI Radeon graphics processors - GPU PerfStudio 2.0 works with the shipping ATI Catalyst driver.

GPU PerfStudio 2.0 is free for all developers and is available through a closed beta program.

AMD Demonstrates Live Migration between Three AMD Opteron Processor Generations with Industry-Leading Virtualization Capabilities

Continuing its momentum and leadership in virtualization technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. released the first video and images demonstrating live migration across three generations of AMD processors on VMware ESX 3.5, including the Six-Core AMD Opteron processor code-named “Istanbul.” Live Migration of virtual machines across physical servers is key to providing superior flexibility for managing today’s data centers. Additionally, AMD is highlighting its continued, cooperative development efforts with Microsoft as evidenced in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, which is available today as a beta and adds support for AMD-V technology with Rapid Virtualization Indexing. The new 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor provides scalable performance for both Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and has received support from all four global OEMs.

• Microsoft, Sun Utilize AMD-V Technology to Drive Leading Virtualization Products and Performance

“The AMD ecosystem of hardware and software partners like Microsoft, Sun and VMware illustrates a strong confidence in the advanced virtualization capabilities AMD-V offers,” said Margaret Lewis, director, Commercial Solutions, AMD. “Enabled in part by RVI, Live Migration across our 65-nm and 45-nm Quad-Core and upcoming Six-Core AMD Opteron processors provides further evidence of the flexibility of AMD-V technology for data center customers upgrading their systems.”

Last week Sun Microsystems posted a new 8P, 32-core world-record result on the VMmark benchmark, measuring the performance and scalability of applications running in virtualized environments based on VMware products. This top VMmark score was achieved on a Sun Fire™ X4600 M2 server powered by Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors.

AMD Hosts Virtualization Webcast with Industry Partners

WHAT:
As part of “Virtualization Ecosystem Month,” AMD’s month-long celebration of virtualization technology and the innovation of its virtualization partners, AMD is hosting a webcast with three leading virtualization software companies to discuss and answer questions about hardware-assisted virtualization.

Partners participating in the webcast include Oracle, Sun Microsystems and VMware. AMD’s Earl Stahl, vice president of Software Development, will serve as moderator. The discussion will touch on multiple topics relating to hardware-assisted virtualization including benefits of the technology and upcoming challenges. The webcast will include a Q&A session and audience questions will be asked via the chatroom.

WHY:
AMD works with a dynamic ecosystem of virtualization software partners to ensure its hardware provides a high-performance and power-efficient foundation for running their software. As more businesses look to implement virtualization technology for cost savings and consolidation benefits, it is important to understand the performance and power efficiency boosts experienced with running the virtualization software on hardware that is optimized for the technology.

AMD QUOTE:
“This webcast provides a great opportunity for AMD and our partners to openly discuss the significant benefits customers can achieve with virtualization technology and the important role hardware plays in ensuring the virtualization software is performing at its best,” said Earl Stahl, vice president, software development, AMD.

AMD Supports Microsoft Windows 7 in ATI Catalyst 9.3 Unified Driver, Delivering Unsurpassed Stability and Key Performance Enhancements

AMD today released Windows 7 driver support as part of the latest ATI Catalyst 9.3 unified graphics driver. ATI Catalyst 9.3 represents the industry’s first unified driver installation package to incorporate Windows 7 support, including Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.1 compliance, bringing with it a host of benefits for developers currently testing and updating applications using the widely available Windows 7 beta release. In addition, the inclusion of Windows 7 drivers sends a clear message to the millions of AMD graphics customers worldwide – ATI Catalyst 9.3, and every planned future release of ATI Catalyst, is ready for the final release of Windows 7.

• Unified graphics driver allows developers and beta testers to unlock the full potential of award-winning AMD DirectX 10.1 graphics products and bring to life new Windows 7 Aero features

In addition to the rock-solid stability of ATI Radeon graphics drivers for Windows 7, the combination of Windows 7 and ATI Radeon graphics permits developers to fully utilize the DirectX 10.1 API used by Microsoft to design the Windows 7 Aero desktop. Graphics with hardware support for the DirectX 10.1 API, currently available in ATI Radeon HD 3000 and ATI Radeon HD 4000 series products, can deliver the full Windows 7 Aero desktop PC experience, including support of new features such as Aero Peek and Aero Shake, both designed to improve navigation of the Windows 7 desktop.

“AMD’s expertise in visual computing shines through in the combined experience of Windows 7 and ATI Radeon graphics,” said Anantha Kancherla, group program manager responsible for Windows graphics, Microsoft. “With today’s release of a Windows 7 unified driver, AMD once again demonstrates its ability to deliver performance and cutting-edge driver support.”

Matching ATI Radeon graphics with Windows 7 can deliver high-fidelity graphics as well as unsurpassed image enhancements such as:

• support for the Direct2D API introduced in Windows 7, giving third-party applications the ability to improve everything from ClearType text rendering to hardware-accelerated vector graphics
• enhanced Windows 7 acceleration, delivering an outstanding Windows experience smooth, crystal-clear playback of multimedia, including high-definition video on HD-capable screens
• incredible 3D game performance in single- and multi-GPU CrossFireX technology configurations.

“Thanks to the incredible expertise within our driver development team, we led the Windows Vista transition with a WHQL-certified unified driver that delivered industry-leading stability,” said Ben Bar-Haim, corporate vice president, Software Engineering, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “The advanced state of our Windows 7 drivers this far ahead of the final Windows 7 release is yet another proof point of our graphics industry leadership. We are ready for Windows 7.”

AMD Announces Shipment of the 50 Millionth Graphics Processor for the Wii From Nintendo

AMD announced that the 50 millionth ATI ‘Hollywood’ graphics processor for the Wii game console from Nintendo shipped today. With 50 million units delivered, the ATI graphics processor code-named ‘Hollywood’ becomes the most successful AMD game console chip to date in terms of unit sales.

“Nintendo values its ongoing relationship with AMD. AMD’s graphics technology expertise as displayed in the ATI ‘Hollywood’ chip is a great part of the momentum of Wii. Our combined efforts help deliver entertaining experiences to create many smiling faces in living rooms around the world,” said Genyo Takeda, general manager of Integrated Research and Development, Nintendo Co., Ltd.

“We congratulate Nintendo on this major milestone for its popular Wii console. AMD shares Nintendo’s excitement for delivering engaging experiences for every member of the family,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “We’re proud to provide the ATI ‘Hollywood’ chip as the cool and quiet graphics engine that factors so prominently in the overall enjoyment for Wii owners. AMD counts Nintendo as a valued customer and we continue to work together to make console entertainment a growing phenomenon worldwide.”

The ATI ‘Hollywood’ graphics processor is a custom graphics processing unit from AMD that enables Wii to provide exciting, immersive game play and interaction for consumers around the world. AMD has a rich 10-year history of providing graphics solutions for Nintendo spanning both the Wii and Nintendo GameCube consoles.

AMD Named to “100 Best Corporate Citizens” List by CRO Magazine

Advanced Micro Devices announced it has been named to CRO Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list for 2009. AMD secured the #46 ranking.

• Award recognizes AMD’s long-term commitment to corporate responsibility

CRO’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List is the only list based on 100% publicly-available information and ranks Russell 1000 companies on their performance in seven key areas: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Philanthropy, Employee Relations, Financial and Governance. AMD’s highest scores came in the areas of environment, climate change and human rights.

This is AMD’s second award this year honoring the company’s efforts in the area of corporate responsibility. In January, AMD was named for the third consecutive year to the 2009 Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World list. The annual Global 100, unveiled each year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, is a list of role models in sustainable business practices.

“At AMD, corporate responsibility is a cornerstone of our company’s culture,” said Allyson Peerman, AMD’s vice president, Public Affairs. “We believe that AMD’s social, environmental and governance programs directly enhance our value to our customers, employees and to the communities where we do business. In fact, there is an increasing body of third-party research that suggests that good corporate citizenship contributes to increased shareholder value.”

New ATI FirePro Graphics Accelerator Brings Outstanding Energy Efficiency to Multiple Display Environments

AMD introduced the ATI FirePro 2450, a low profile quad display graphics accelerator that consumes minimal power, delivering exceptional power efficiency. Designed to operate at less than 18 watts, the new graphics accelerator is another example of AMD’s leadership in energy efficiency.

• Operating at less than 18 watts for exceptional power efficiency, the ATI FirePro 2450 quad display card is designed to meet the performance and productivity needs of enterprise environments

“The ATI FirePro 2450 offers the reliability professionals expect and the efficiency IT departments require. IT managers want a card they can test once, deploy virtually anywhere, and count on to run reliably,” said Janet Matsuda, senior director, AMD Professional Graphics. “The low power consumption enables cool, energy-efficient operation, as well as superior reliability and longevity. The compact form factor can be deployed in nearly any system. This accelerator is perfect for customers who need more than two displays, such as in financial services and process control.”

The low profile design of the ATI FirePro 2450 enables IT departments to standardize on one card that can be installed in a broad range of systems, including workstations, desktop PCs and docking stations featuring AMD or other processors. With 512 MB of on-board graphics memory the card delivers high performance while streaming media and running applications in several windows and includes full Microsoft Windows Vista Aero support, all while consuming less than 18W of power on average—making the card an exceptional energy efficient solution for virtually any multi-view environment. In addition, the ATI FirePro 2450 supports PCI Express 2.0 and offers two VHDCI connectors with breakout cables for quad DVI-I or VGA support. It allows for flexible output configurations, making the card capable of driving multiple high resolution monitors for the maximum amount of screen space.

The ATI FirePro 2450 is the latest addition to the ATI FirePro multiview offering, replacing the ATI FireMV workstation cards used today by many leading financial services organizations.

The new ATI FirePro 2450 graphics accelerator is now available with a MSRP of USD$499. ATI FirePro graphics accelerators are available from system integrators and channel partners worldwide.

AMD Launches World’s First 40nm Graphics Processors: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830

AMD announced the world’s first graphics processors to harness 40nm process technology: the ATI Mobility RadeonTM HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830. These feature-rich graphics processors redefine mobile PC entertainment with advanced capabilities including support for the latest Microsoft DirectX 10.1 games, a home theater-quality HD multimedia experience, and energy-efficient features for long battery life at work, at home or at play.

• Cutting-edge technology process and advanced memory technologies combine as AMD delivers highly mobile yet high-performance DirectX 10.1 gaming and rich HD content

“People now decidedly prefer mobile PCs, and innovations like this 40nm mobile GPU show AMD is uniquely positioned to make the best entertainment experiences of desktop PCs possible in a notebook,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “Depending on the performance of the panel or external monitor, laptops that feature these tiny, powerful but efficient graphics engines can run today’s most demanding game titles at beyond 1080p HD resolution, or playback full 1080p HD video with high energy efficiency thanks to ATI PowerPlay and 40nm process technology.”

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 graphics will be featured in the forthcoming Asus K notebook.

“ASUS always strives to be first to deliver the newest and most advanced technology to our customers and launching the Asus K series Notebook with these new graphics processors from AMD demonstrates that,” said Henry Yeh, GM of ASUS’ Notebook Business Unit.

The new 40nm production process allows notebook manufacturers to deliver more graphics horsepower in a smaller ASIC die size, giving people access to highly capable discrete graphics ideal for smaller notebooks. This milestone marks the fifth consecutive first-to-market process transition for ATI graphics processors.

“AMD always seeks to deliver the most advanced, yet relevant technology to our customers,” continued Bergman. “We were first with DirectX 10.1 support, first to design graphics cards supporting GDDR5 memory technology, first with WHQL certified drivers for Windows Vista, first to launch a unified shader architecture, and for the fifth consecutive time, first to launch GPUs based on a new process node. That’s a meaningful track record of reliable execution for our customers.”

“AMD continues to push the envelope of graphics processor performance, energy efficiency, and leading features with the introduction of its 40nm graphics processors,” said Mark Liu, senior vice president, Advanced Technology Business, TSMC. “TSMC and AMD have a long history of success bringing the first graphics processors to market on new process technologies, including 90nm, 80nm, 65nm, 55nm and now 40nm.”

The GPU for the best mobile HD entertainment

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics processors feature powerful 3D engines derived from the award-winning ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 desktop series architecture with support for DirectX 10.1. Take crisp, detail-rich images and outstanding visual effects wherever you go for unparalleled levels of 3D gaming realism. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 supports GDDR5 memory technology contributing to stunning improvements in game play and performance with nearly twice the memory bandwidth of GDDR3.

Home theater enthusiasts can enjoy a portable HD experience with full 1080p HD viewing on HD-capable displays and or TVs. People can upscale to nearly twice the display resolution of HD content or watch standard definition video in near-HD quality with enhanced DVD up-scaling*. The second generation AMD Unified Video Decoder (UVD) keeps the CPU free to run social media applications or virus scan while UVD helps process intensive content such as Blu-ray movies. This helps lower power consumption and reduces the need for high fan settings, enabling a quieter and cooler laptop experience.

Leading energy efficiency

Additional power-saving features include ATI PowerPlay, ATI PowerXpress, and ATI Switchable Graphics technologies.

Availability

Initially the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4860 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics processors are available in quality notebooks from leading notebook manufacturer ASUS, with models planned for availability beginning in Q2 2009.

Bruce Claflin Appointed AMD Chairman of the Board

AMD announced that Bruce Claflin has been appointed Chairman of its Board of Directors. Mr. Claflin replaces Hector Ruiz, who retired from AMD’s Board in conjunction with assuming the position of Chairman of the Board of “The Foundry Company”. Mr. Claflin has been a member of AMD’s Board of Directors since August, 2003.

• Waleed Al Mokarrab, COO of Mubadala Development Company, appointed to AMD Board of Directors

The AMD Board also appointed Waleed Al Mokarrab to the Board. Mr. Al Mokarrab is chief operating officer of Mubadala Development Company.

“Bruce Claflin brings a wealth of business experience that applies directly to the challenges and opportunities relevant to our company,” said Dirk Meyer, president and chief executive officer of AMD. “We are also honored to welcome Waleed Al Mokarrab to the Board. His experience in business development across a broad range of industries will be an invaluable asset to AMD.”

Mr. Meyer continues in his role as president and CEO, and as a member of the AMD Board of Directors.

Mr. Claflin has 33 years of experience in senior positions with IBM, Digital Equipment and most recently as CEO and member of the board of directors of 3Com Corporation, a provider of voice and data networking products and services. He has run major personal computer businesses and has extensive international experience, including the founding and management of international joint ventures. In 2006, Mr. Claflin retired from 3Com Corporation. Mr. Claflin is also a member of the board of directors for Ciena Corporation.

Waleed Al Mokarrab is the Chief Operating Officer of Mubadala. His primary responsibilities are to oversee Mubadala’s operational and business development activities. These include Mubadala’s international acquisitions and business development activities across a broad range of industries such as healthcare, education, energy, infrastructure, aerospace, real estate and technology. Prior to joining Mubadala, Mr. Al Mokarrab worked with the UAE Offsets Group as a Senior Projects Manager. He brought with him a wealth of experience from McKinsey & Company where he worked as a Consultant, advising on a range of industrial and governmental projects.

AMD Fulfills Vision to Create Two Leadership Companies Capable of Delivering Transformative Innovation and Impact to the Global Technology Industry

AMD announced it has closed its Asset Smart strategic transaction with the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) and Mubadala Development Company of Abu Dhabi, setting the stage for the formal launch of the world’s only U.S.-headquartered semiconductor foundry, temporarily called “The Foundry Company.” The Foundry Company is expected to formally launch and disclose its new name and visual identity later this week.

• AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Company form well-resourced U.S. based global semiconductor manufacturing services company
• Strategic partner Mubadala Development Company increases stake in AMD

AMD received $700 million from ATIC for a portion of its ownership interests in The Foundry Company, The Foundry Company assumed responsibility for the repayment of approximately $1.1 billion of associated AMD debt, and Mubadala paid AMD approximately $125 million for 58 million newly issued AMD shares and warrants for 35 million additional shares.

“With the close of this historic transaction, AMD and its committed partners have conceived two strong industry-leading companies capable of charting future courses that will dramatically improve the technology industry,” said Dirk Meyer, president and chief executive officer of AMD. "Our ‘Asset Smart’ strategy is about more than providing AMD with long term access to world-class, leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing that is foundational to our growth strategy. It is about transforming the industry. ATIC is the ideal partner to help scale AMD’s forty years of semiconductor expertise, and provide a manufacturing foundation for the entire industry to produce the next generation of semiconductor innovations. We are proud of our vision, the opportunities we are creating around the world, and fortunate to have astute, committed strategic partners in Mubadala and ATIC, and we are delighted to welcome Mubadala to the board of AMD. We are confident that this strategy and partnership will enable AMD to achieve long-term success based on designing and integrating industry-leading computing and graphics technologies that deliver compelling user experiences.”

Final Asset Smart Transaction Terms Overview Upon closing, AMD:

• Improves its cash position by approximately $825 million, excluding its consolidation of the operations of The Foundry Company for financial reporting purposes, through ATIC’s $700 million payment for a portion of AMD’s ownership interests in The Foundry Company and Mubadala’s purchase for approximately $125 million of 58 million newly issued AMD shares of common stock and warrants for 35 million additional shares;
• Will appoint a Mubadala designee as a member of its board of directors; and Has the option, but not any requirement, to provide additional capital funding to The Foundry Company in response to future capital calls.

Upon closing, The Foundry Company:

• Has a total enterprise value of approximately $4.3 billion, consisting of AMD's contribution of manufacturing assets and liabilities, (including its fabrication facilities in Dresden), intellectual property and employees valued together at approximately $1.8 billion; ATIC's contribution of $1.4 billion in new capital; and approximately $1.1 billion of debt assumed by The Foundry Company from AMD;
• Will be consolidated with AMD for purposes of financial reporting; Has a board of directors whose membership is equally divided between representatives appointed by AMD and ATIC;
• Has only AMD and ATIC as stockholders, each of which owns 50 percent of the outstanding shares of The Foundry Company and has a 50 percent voting interest in The Foundry Company; Is owned 34.2 percent by AMD and 65.8 percent by ATIC on a fully converted to common shares basis. ATIC’s fully converted ownership may increase over time based on the differences in securities held by AMD and ATIC, and depending on whether AMD elects to invest proportionately with ATIC in future capital infusions to support The Foundry Company’s growth.

AMD and the Advanced Technology Investment Company Secure Final Approval Necessary to Create New Leading-Edge Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

AMD announced that its stockholders approved a proposal to issue common stock and warrants to an affiliate of Mubadala Development Company PJSC, paving the way for AMD and the Advanced Technology Investment Company of Abu Dhabi to create "The Foundry Company".

• AMD stockholders approve additional stock, warrants to Mubadala Development Company

With the stockholder approval received today, all closing conditions for the creation of "The Foundry Company" manufacturing joint venture have been met.

AMD stockholders approved a proposal to issue 58 million shares of the company's common stock and warrants to purchase 35 million shares of its common stock and 35 million shares of the company's common stock upon exercise of those warrants to an affiliate of the Mubadala Development Company PJSC, on the terms described in the proxy statement related to the Special Meeting of Stockholders that was held today in Austin, Texas.

Happy Flight Movie

Synopsis

The film "Happy Flight" directed by Shinobu Yaguchi ("Waterboys" and "Swing Girls".) A co-pilot Kazuhiro Suzuki (Seichi Tanabe) is on assessed flight that will determine whether he gets promoted to the rank of pilot. However, an emergency situation occurs! A rookie cabin attendant Etsuko Saito (Haruka Ayase) also brings chaos from the strain. Will this flight safely arrive at Honolulu? Stars Seichi Tanabe, Haruka Ayase, and more. Frank Sinatra sings theme of the film.

Director : Shinobu Yaguchi
Cast : Seichi Tanabe, Haruka Ayase
Duration : 104 mins

AMD Hosts Discussion: Business Case for Cloud Computing

At tomorrow’s IDC Cloud Computing Forum in San Francisco, AMD will host a panel discussion on “Building the Business Case for Cloud Computing: Understanding the Opportunities and Benefits.” Representatives from Accenture, Amazon, AMD, Red Hat, The Shumacher Group, and IDC analyst Frank Gens will discuss strategies to successfully plot and initiate a cloud computing course. In addition, panelists will explore how cloud computing helps companies advance capacity and capabilities without significantly increasing investments.

“As datacenter demands continue to evolve toward web-based application and data delivery, IT costs and energy consumption can sky rocket. We believe businesses can see both cost-savings and workload efficiencies with a cloud computing environment, particularly when utilizing scalable, high value, power-efficient AMD platforms,” said Margaret Lewis, director, commercial software solutions and strategy, AMD. “Next quarter, AMD will take energy-efficient computing to the next level by introducing an even lower power processor specifically designed for the unique demands of cloud computing environments.”

AMD virtualization technology innovation is also driving the evolution of cloud computing infrastructure with OEM, software and channel partners. Details of the leading SPECweb 2005 performance benchmark posted by VMware are included in the current AMD@work blog post, and insights on past and current trends influencing today’s CCEs can be found at AMD@Virtualization.

Advanced Micro Devices is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play.

AMD Extends the Mainstream Value of Dragon Platform Technology with 45nm AMD Phenom II Triple-Core Processors and Foundation for Memory Transition

AMD extended the value and lifespan of its heralded Dragon platform technology today with five new additions to its AMD Phenom II processor family, including the industry’s only 45nm triple-core processors and three new AMD Phenom II quad-core processors. These AMD Phenom II processors deliver choice and lay the foundation for memory transition; they fit in either AM2+ or AM3 sockets and support DDR2 or next generation DDR3 memory technology. AMD continues to enhance the Dragon platform technology value to OEM and channel partners as well as Do-It-Yourself (DIY) consumers who build and customize their own PCs.

• New AMD Phenom II triple- and quad-core processors fill market needs and provide increased choice for consumers, OEMs and channel partners

With a substantial performance boost over the previous generation of AMD Phenom processors, new AMD Phenom II processors deliver an amazing experience at mainstream price points and can help eliminate the substantial cost required by competing platforms which force an immediate upgrade to DDR3 memory. AMD’s strategic architecture design lets consumers customize a PC upgrade path that’s right for their budget and overall experience without being forced to pay substantial amounts of money to upgrade their motherboard and memory technology.

“Whether buying a new desktop PC or upgrading components in an existing system, AMD recognizes consumers are looking for value more than ever before,” said Leslie Sobon, vice president of product marketing, AMD. “With the combination of the infrastructure compatibility and the introduction of the AMD Phenom II triple-core processors, AMD has made two very strategic design decisions that our competitor cannot duplicate at the component or platform level.”

“PC buyers are looking to leverage their technology investments as much as possible in these challenging economic times,” said Bob O'Donnell, IDC vice president, Clients and Displays. “Companies that can provide solutions that help offer strong performance and flexibility at attractive price points are clearly going to be at an advantage.”

Extending Triple-Core Innovation

All things being equal, it is an established fact that three cores offer more performance than two, but not as much as four. Typically, the cost of cores would scale in a linear fashion. But what if you could get triple-core performance at a price competitive with dual-core systems? This is the market need that AMD Phenom II triple-core processors have filled. First introduced at 65nm, these new 45nm AMD Phenom II triple-core processors deliver the improvements over the previous generation AMD Phenom processors exhibited by all AMD 45nm desktop processors: better energy efficiency, improved idle power consumption and incredible headroom for tunable performance. AMD continues to deliver competitive and affordable solutions addressing the diverse needs of customers and consumers; whether dual-, triple- or quad-core, AMD can provide a platform-level solution that exceeds expectations – all at a competitive price.

Platform Compatibility

When upgrading desktop PCs, the design compatibility of the new AMD Phenom II processors will allow consumers to keep their existing microprocessor technology across AM2+ and AM3 infrastructures. That means AMD Phenom II processors work equally well with either DDR2 or DDR3 memory, allowing customers to choose if and when they wish to upgrade. AMD customers and partners will be able to take advantage of its innovative multi-core technology and experience a compelling solution, especially when combined with AMD’s chipset and graphics processors.

Pricing and Availability

The new triple-core and quad-core AMD Phenom II processors are available immediately at the following frequencies:

• AMD Phenom II X4 910 - (2.6GHz)
• AMD Phenom II X4 810 - (2.6GHz)
• AMD Phenom II X4 805 - (2.5GHz)
• AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition - (2.8GHz)
• AMD Phenom II X3 710 - (2.6GHz)

The triple-core AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition processor is competitively priced at $145 while the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor is priced at $165; the AMD processor allows users to get more cores for less money. The quad-core AMD Phenom II X4 810 processor (2.6GHz) is priced at $175 compared to the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor (2.33GHz) at $170.

Palm Reports Q3 FY09 Results

Palm, Inc. today reported that total revenue in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, ended Feb. 27, 2009, was $90.6 million. Smartphone sell-through for the quarter was 482,000 units, down 42 percent year over year. Smartphone revenue was $77.5 million, down 72 percent from the year-ago period.

"We're proceeding through a challenging transitional period, however our current results shouldn't overshadow the tremendous progress we've made against our strategic goals. We're poised to usher in a new era at Palm," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer.

Net loss applicable to common shareholders for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 was $(98.0) million, or $(0.89) per diluted common share. Net loss applicable to common shareholders included stock-based compensation of $5.3 million, amortization of intangible assets of $0.9 million, restructuring charges of $5.7 million, a casualty loss of $5.0 million, an impairment of non-current auction rate securities of $4.0 million, a gain on a series C derivative of $20.6 million and accretion of series B and series C preferred stocks of $3.0 million. This compares to a net loss applicable to common shareholders for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008 of $(57.0) million or $(0.53) per diluted common share, which included stock-based compensation of $6.2 million, amortization of intangible assets of $1.0 million, restructuring charges of $12.3 million, an impairment of non-current auction rate securities of $25.5 million and accretion of series B preferred stock of $2.4 million.

Net loss for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009, measured on a non-GAAP basis, totaled $(94.7) million, or $(0.86) per diluted share, excluding stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring charges, a casualty loss, an impairment of non-current auction rate securities, a gain on a series C derivative and accretion of series B and series C preferred stocks. This compares to a non-GAAP net loss for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008 of $(17.0) million, or $(0.16) per diluted share, which excluded the effects of stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring charges, an impairment of non-current auction rate securities, accretion of series B preferred stock and an adjustment to the related tax provision.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 totaled $(81.9) million. EBITDA, adjusted to add back stock-based compensation, net other income (expense), restructuring charges, a casualty loss, an impairment of non-current auction rate securities and a gain on a series C derivative, or Adjusted EBITDA, totaled $(78.6) million.

Cash used in operations for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009 was $(92.1) million. The company's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balance was $219.4 million at the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2009.

Palm recently announced the closing of a public offering of common stock and the associated exercise of its underwriters' over-allotment option. In total, approximately 26.6 million shares were sold in the offering, including shares subject to the over-allotment option and approximately 18.5 million common shares underlying 49 percent of the units of series C preferred stock and warrants acquired by Elevation Partners in January 2009, for a public offering price of $6.00 per share. Elevation Partners, which recouped the $49 million it originally paid for its units included in the offering, used those funds to purchase approximately 8.2 million shares of Palm's common stock in the offering at the public offering price. In total, Palm received estimated net proceeds of approximately $103.6 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions, estimated offering expenses and the original purchase price of Elevation Partners' units.

Separately, Palm indicated that since it expects to periodically provide new software features free of charge to customers of its Palm webOS products, including the recently announced Palm Pre, it will recognize Palm webOS product revenues and related standard costs of revenues on a subscription basis based on the applicable product's estimated economic life, which is currently 24 months. The company will be recording deferred revenues and deferred costs of revenues on its balance sheet, and amortizing them into earnings on a straight-line basis over the estimated economic product life. Certain administrative and other related period costs of revenues will be expensed as incurred. This accounting policy will have no impact on cash flows and does not change how Palm accounts for Palm OS products, like the Centro, or its Treo line.

INVESTOR'S NOTE

Palm will host a conference call to review the complete third-quarter fiscal year 2009 financial results beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET. The conference call will be hosted by Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer, and Doug Jeffries, chief financial officer. Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to listen to the call by logging onto the conference call webcast prior to the start of the conference call at Palm's Investor Relations website. Investors wishing to listen to the conference call via telephone may dial 800.901.5247 (domestic) or 617.786.4501 (international). There is no pass code required for the live call. A telephone replay of the conference call will be available through March 30, 2009. The dial-in number for the replay will be 888.286.8010 (domestic) and 617.801.6888(international). The pass code 15222468 is required for the replay.

A Very Short Life Movie

Synopsis

"A woman is born to give her body to men; her father or strangers should make no difference."
Respectable Police Commissioner Josephine reinvestigates an insignificant murder case of a 11 years old girl. The murderer is the mother of the victim, Becky . Under intense interrogation, Becky refused to admit that she knew all along that her boyfriend was raping her little daughter at home.
The harsh interrogation drives Becky into killing herself. What is the truth that the raging Commissioner is trying to find out? What is the seemingly defenseless mother hiding? Or is she actually telling the truth?
Is the phrase, "A woman is born to give her body to men." the whole truth?

Director : Dennis Law
Cast : ---

AMD CMO Nigel Dessau Addresses the Evolution of Technology Trends in Keynote at Handelsblatt Annual Congress

Today at the Handelsblatt Annual Congress in Munich, AMD Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Nigel Dessau addressed an international audience of CIOs and senior IT managers in a keynote that examined how trends in x86 computing are impacting the way companies operate. Highlighting new 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors launched yesterday as well as the recently announced AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks, Dessau discussed how emerging technologies are transforming both server and client computing environments. Dessau also explored how these trends are driving new approaches to how IT is managed, with cloud computing in particular helping to re-imagine how data is stored, served and accessed.

• Dessau details how trends in x86 computing are transforming the way companies do business

“x86 computing is at a crossroads. On the server side, we’re seeing cost and space considerations further drive the adoption of virtualization as a way to achieve new efficiencies, while on the client side the user experience is increasingly being defined less by the speed of the processor as considerations like mobility and graphics take center stage,” said Dessau. “Despite these economically uncertain times, IT managers must continue to take advantage of technologies that will help them be more efficient, reduce costs and otherwise be smarter about managing their IT infrastructures.”

AMD has recently enhanced its product line-up, introducing new products and platforms that address these new market realities.

• Addressing the industry’s rising demand for low power, cost-saving data center technology, yesterday AMD announced widespread availability of five new highly-efficient 55-watt ACP 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors along with new power management features that allow customers to immediately recognize power savings and increased virtualization performance.
• Announced earlier this month at CES, the new AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks enables exceedingly thin and light designs with rich entertainment capabilities at an affordable price, meeting user demand for lighter, sleeker and more powerful notebooks that suit the new mobile lifestyle.

“As the Internet increasingly becomes an alternate platform for the delivery of applications, data, and services, businesses must be prepared to support cloud computing environments both from the server and client end of the spectrum,” said Dessau.

AMD Helps Customers Counter Rising Data Center Power and Cooling Expenses

Addressing the number one challenge for data center managers1, AMD today announced widespread availability of five new low-power 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors. At 55-watt ACP, these new highly efficient processors help meet the industry’s rising demand for low power, cost-saving data center technology. Now available in eight server systems from HP, the new processors can help customers immediately recognize power savings and increased virtualization performance. Rackable Systems will also have Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processor-based servers available immediately and additional systems from global OEMs including Dell, Sun, and other solution providers are expected later this quarter.

• New Highly Efficient 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors now available in systems from Global OEMs and solution providers

The 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processor, with speeds ranging from 2.1 to 2.3 GHz, is designed to address a vast segment of the business computing market that must maximize performance during peak hours while managing the energy costs during idle and low-utilization hours. Server platforms based on these new AMD Opteron HE processors can offer up to 20% lower idle power compared to similarly configured competing systems, helping cut energy costs without compromising any of the processor features of the standard power options.

“In the current economic environment, datacenter managers are under more pressure than ever to reduce costs without compromising the latest features or performance,” said Patrick Patla, general manager, Server and Workstation Business, AMD. “The new Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE series processor offers unrivaled performance-per-watt and cost-efficiencies for a wide range of configurations without a potential front-side bus bottleneck. In the second quarter AMD plans to take energy-efficiency to the next level in introducing even lower ACP processors for the unique demands of cloud computing environments.”

Additionally, two new 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron SE processors (2.8 GHz) are now available for customers with the most performance-intensive datacenter workloads. At the 105-watt ACP thermal envelope, these new processors are also immediately available in three new systems from HP as well as from other AMD technology partners.

New Power Management Innovations and Performance Numbers

Significant new power management capabilities are now enabled with all 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors. Details on these new additional power saving features, as well as information on the performance data available for both new processor categories is available at AMD.

AMD Foundation and Games for Change Unveil Online Toolkit to Help Organizations Create Games on Social Issues

AMD announced the availability of Let the Games Begin: A Toolkit 4 Making Social Issue Games, which helps nonprofit organizations to create social issue games on such topics as the environment, energy consumption, poverty and health. Produced by Games for Change with support from the AMD Foundation's AMD Changing the Game initiative, the toolkit includes examples of successful games with social content as well as in-depth presentations by key game-design experts.

The mission of AMD Changing the Game is to take gaming beyond entertainment and inspire youth to learn critical education and life skills by equipping them to create digital games with social content. The program focuses on 13 to 18-year-olds and emphasizes enriching the educational experience of disadvantaged youth.

“AMD Changing the Game has created excellent opportunities for students to express their views on the world while learning important life skills through the experience of creating digital games,” said Allyson Peerman, president of the AMD Foundation. “The Let The Games Begin toolkit is an important resource to inform and educate organizations that are interested in using games as a medium for communicating about important social issues.”

The AMD Foundation launched AMD Changing the Game in June 2008. The initiative is designed to apply AMD’s microprocessor and graphics processing power to digital game development, helping to educate young people and effect positive social change in an increasingly technology-driven society. The program was launched as part of AMD’s sponsorship and participation at the Fifth Annual Games for Change Festival in New York City. Also as part of that festival, the AMD Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation co-funded “Let the Games Begin,” a day-long workshop for nonprofit organizations that featured presentations and brainstorming sessions by some of the nation’s leading authorities on social issue game development and covered fundamentals such as game design, fundraising, evaluation, youth participation, distribution and press strategies.

AMD Changing the Game capitalizes on the dynamic entertainment and educational potential of digital gaming. By working with nonprofit organizations, foundations and other companies, AMD Changing the Game uses digital game design to teach disadvantaged youth essential STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and life skills. The Let the Games Begin toolkit will help broaden the scope of this program and bring social issue gaming to youth across the country.

“Digital games are powerful tools used to engage youth and adults in some of the most pressing social issues we face today. We are excited to unveil the Let the Games Begin toolkit with AMD to help more organizations incorporate digital games in their efforts to make the world a better place,” said Alex Quinn, executive director of Games for Change.

AMD Changing the Game Milestones to Date

The AMD Foundation’s AMD Changing the Game initiative has already seen great success with several nonprofit groups across the U.S.:

• Girlstart is an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit organization created to empower middle- and high-school girls to excel in math, science, and technology. AMD funded a summer camp that enabled 40 high school juniors to examine gender issues in gaming and explore the power of video games to effect social change.
• Global Kids is a New York City-based nonprofit organization that seeks to transform urban youth into successful students and community leaders. Through its grant to Global Kids’ Playing for Keeps program, AMD joined The Microsoft Corporation in enabling 20 youth from underserved communities to work with game developers to develop, create and distribute a socially conscious game, Tempest in Crescent City .The game focuses on how citizens responded to disaster situations during Hurricane Katrina.
• Institute for Urban Game Design is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization teaching science, technology, engineering and math skills through the hands-on creation of digital games. AMD’s grant enabled 40 McKinley high school students to apply their learning in 3-D modeling, animation and computer programming to develop games focused on the issue of energy usage.
• Science Buddies is a national, non-profit organization based in California's Silicon Valley offering a variety of web-based tools that help K-12 students explore science through research-based projects often done at science fairs and other school and community events. The AMD Changing the Game grant has enabled Science Buddies to launch a video and computer games interest area on its site aimed at helping students understand and practice what is required to design digital games.

AMD is also working with PETLab, a joint project of Games for Change and Parsons The New School, to create a Game Design and Animation Curriculum for youth. The curriculum is expected to be available to educators in 2009.

AMD Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual Results

AMD reported fourth quarter 2008 revenue from continuing operations1 of $1.162 billion. Fourth quarter 2008 revenue decreased 35 percent compared to the third quarter of 2008 and 33 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007. Fourth quarter 2008 revenue was down 28 percent sequentially, excluding third quarter 2008 process technology license revenue of $191 million.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, AMD reported a net loss of $1.424 billion, or $2.34 per share. For continuing operations, fourth quarter 2008 loss was $1.414 billion, or $2.32 per share, and the operating loss was $1.274 billion. The results for continuing operations include an unfavorable impact of $996 million, or $1.64 per share as described in the table below. Loss from discontinued operations was $10 million, or $0.02 a share.

For the year ended December 27, 2008, AMD achieved revenue of $5.808 billion. Fiscal 2008 net loss was $3.098 billion. AMD reported revenue of $5.858 billion and a net loss of $3.379 billion for fiscal 2007.

In the third quarter of 2008, AMD had revenue from continuing operations of $1.797 billion, including process technology license revenue of $191 million, a net loss of $127 million, income from continuing operations of $23 million and operating income of $122 million. In the fourth quarter of 2007, AMD had revenue from continuing operations of $1.737 billion, a net loss of $1.772 billion, a loss from continuing operations of $1.298 billion and an operating loss of $1.187 billion.

“Although industry visibility is poor, our priorities remain clear and achievable,” said Dirk Meyer, AMD’s president and CEO. “We remain focused on further reducing our breakeven point through targeted restructuring actions while ensuring we execute our highly-competitive product and technology roadmaps. We made significant progress toward the creation of ‘The Foundry Company’ in the quarter, and anticipate closing the transaction in February. We expect our ongoing restructuring actions and asset smart strategy, combined with the strength of our innovative product offerings, will leave us well positioned for a global market recovery.”

Fourth quarter 2008 gross margin was 23 percent, including a negative impact of 20 percentage points due to a $227 million incremental write down of inventory due to weak market conditions. Third quarter 2008 gross margin was 51 percent, 45 percent excluding process technology license revenue.

Current Outlook

AMD’s outlook statements are based on current expectations of its continuing operations. The following statements are forward looking, and actual results could differ materially depending on market conditions and the factors set forth under “Cautionary Statement” below.

In light of the current macroeconomic conditions, very limited visibility and continued corrections in the supply chain, AMD expects first quarter 2009 revenue to decrease from the fourth quarter 2008.

Additional Highlights

The formation of ‘The Foundry Company’ remains on track to close in February. AMD and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) obtained clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") regarding the creation of “The Foundry Company”. In addition, the Empire State Development Corporation and the New York Public Authorities Control Board approved the transfer of development incentives from AMD to “The Foundry Company.”

AMD announced the widespread availability and broad OEM, ISV, channel and system builder support for its 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. HP, Dell, IBM and Sun Microsystems introduced more than a dozen new systems designed to take advantage of the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor’s superior virtualization performance, energy-efficiency and platform stability. Additionally, Microsoft selected the new AMD processor for its Windows Azure cloud computing service.

• Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based servers captured the top VMmark virtualization performance scores for 2-, 4- and 8-socket servers while two-socket servers based on the new processor have achieved the four highest SPECweb2005 scores. SPECweb2005 is a leading performance indicator for Web 2.0 and Cloud Computing environments.

AMD Opteron processors now help drive seven of the Top 10 supercomputer systems in the world, including “Jaguar,” the first ever wholly x86-based supercomputer to achieve the petaflop performance milestone.

AMD announced the availability of the AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks, codenamed “Yukon”, based on the new AMD Athlon Neo processor, ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics and optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete graphics. The first product offering based on the Yukon platform will be the HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC, which was named “Best Notebook of CES” by Laptop magazine and is expected to be available in April.

AMD launched the “Dragon” platform for desktop PCs, featuring the new AMD Phenom™ II X4 processor. HP, Dell and Alienware plan to offer desktop systems based on the Dragon platform in the first quarter.

AMD continued to strengthen its leading-edge mobile graphics portfolio, with the introduction of the ATI Mobility Radeon 4000, the world’s first TeraFLOPS class visual compute power in a notebook. Asus, MSI and Toshiba all introduced new ATI Mobility Radeon 4000-powered laptops. Additionally, Alienware and OCZ both released notebooks utilizing AMD’s CrossfireX dual-GPU configurations based on the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series.

AMD expanded ATI Radeon HD 4800 series with the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 4830, which delivers exceptional game performance and is designed for an expanded PC gaming market segment.

AMD announced plans to create, in partnership with OTOY, the “AMD Fusion Render Cloud”, a petaFLOPS-class supercomputer designed to process and electronically distribute HD video and gaming content to thin clients and handheld devices via HTML browsers when completed in the second half of 2009.

As part of the Company’s strategy to focus on x86 computing and graphics technologies, AMD completed the sale of its Digital TV (DTV) processor business to Broadcom Corporation for $141.5 million in cash and the sale of technology assets, intellectual property and resources that formed the basis of its Handheld business to Qualcomm for $65 million in cash.

AMD Teleconference

AMD will hold a conference call for the financial community at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET) today to discuss its fourth quarter financial results.

Qualcomm Acquires Handheld Graphics and Multimedia Assets from AMD

Qualcomm Incorporated announced that Qualcomm has acquired certain graphics and multimedia technology assets, intellectual property and resources that were formerly the basis of AMD’s handheld business. The acquisition enhances Qualcomm’s multimedia capabilities, allowing Qualcomm to strengthen its leadership position in delivering more advanced products that redefine next-generation mobile user experiences.

• Technology and Resource Assets to Strengthen Qualcomm's Leadership Position in Mobile Multimedia

“This acquisition of assets from AMD’s handheld business brings us strong multimedia technologies, including graphics cores that we have been licensing for several years,” said Steve Mollenkopf, executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “Bringing this technology in-house creates even greater synergy as we seamlessly integrate the best-in-class multimedia performance AMD offers into our system-on-chip (SoC) products.”

“With the sale of these handheld technology assets and resources to Qualcomm, we are better able to focus on our core business and leverage our unique position as a leader in both x86 computing and high-end graphics,” said Robert J. Rivet, chief operations and administrative officer, chief financial officer of AMD. “We believe the talented AMD Handheld employees will be a great asset to Qualcomm.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm has extended offers of employment to various design and development teams from AMD’s handheld business. The teams are developing technologies to enhance mobile devices in areas including 2D and 3D graphics, audio/video, display, and architecture.

The two companies signed and closed a binding agreement on January 19, 2009, having already received required regulatory approvals. Cash consideration from Qualcomm to AMD, as part of the transaction, is $65 million, subject to adjustments for employee-related expenses and a holdback for certain customary indemnification obligations. Both AMD and Qualcomm are committed to a seamless transfer of business assets, as well as a smooth transition for employees.

Qualcomm expects the acquisition to be approximately $0.02 dilutive to pro forma earnings per share in fiscal 2009 and accretive to earnings by the second half of calendar year 2010.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&P 100 Index, the S&P 500 Index and is a 2008 FORTUNE 500 company.

AMD Offers New Package Features for Embedded Markets

AMD announced immediate availability of the AMD Sempron 210U and 200U processors for embedded systems. These new processors are available with five year longevity that is standard for AMD embedded components and feature lidless Ball Grid Array (BGA) packaging with the low power and high performance of AMD's Direct Connect Architecture.

• Helps system designers reduce enclosure size without sacrificing performance

These new lidless BGA packaged processors can help customers significantly shrink their embedded design into new smaller, flatter form factors without having to sacrifice any computing performance,” said Buddy Broeker, director, Embedded Product Marketing, AMD. “Retail touch screens, self-service kiosks and digital signage are a growing part of the consumer experience and thin client computing continues to play a strong role in helping businesses become more efficient. These new processor features will help our customers stay on the cutting edge of embedded system design.”

Customers can further streamline development by pairing the new AMD Sempron processors with the AMD M690E chipset. This complete and robust embedded platform can help speed time to market and deliver the graphics and display options that are increasingly important in embedded systems.

"Whether it's clients for cloud computing, virtual desktops, or as a green replacement for a PC, customers turn to Wyse for powerful client solutions that deliver the rich sound and graphics common with today's applications," said Curt Schwebke, CTO for Wyse Technology. "The new AMD Sempron 210U processors enable us to deliver high performance in a very low power thermal range, and with the BGA package, we are able to offer increasingly compact designs."

Embedded systems based on the AMD Sempron 210U and 200U processors are also available from iBASE, Avalue, EVOC, Gigabyte, and Inventec while additional AMD embedded customers are expected to bring systems to market in 2009.

AMD Lone Star Campus Receives LEED Gold Certification

AMD announced its Lone Star campus in Austin, TX has achieved a gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Based on current certified projects, this is the largest gold certified LEED commercial building in Texas.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The gold rating is the second highest rating obtainable in the system, and recognizes performance in dozens of design metrics including site selection and organized around six key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality and innovative design.

“From the inception of the Lone Star project, AMD sought to set the standard for responsible development, and this award recognizes AMD’s Austin campus as one of the greenest corporate facilities in the U.S.,” said Allyson Peerman, vice president, Public Affairs, AMD. “Earning LEED gold certification not only demonstrates AMD’s leadership in green building and green energy practices, but also highlights our commitment to our employees and the communities where we conduct business.”

The Lone Star campus, which is home to AMD’s business operations and the Austin design engineering center, was designed and constructed by a diverse team of internationally recognized architects, engineers, ecologists and sustainability experts. The site development plan for the 58-acre, 870,000 square foot campus was based on three key tenets: limit site impact, protect water quality, and use innovative sustainable design. Some of the sustainable design elements include:

• Energy Use: Powered 100% by Austin Energy’s GreenChoice electricity, which comes from clean, renewable energy sources such as wind power
• Rainwater collection: Designed with a 1.2 million gallon capacity rainwater collection system, which is designed to provide water for the buildings’ cooling towers and irrigation
• Construction materials: Incorporated more than 20% of construction materials based on recycled content, and with more than 20% of locally sourced construction materials
• 100% Native Landscaping: AMD partnered with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to salvage the native trees, shrubs and grasses within the footprint of the campus, and replant them following construction.

AMD has a long history of environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility. Among other awards, AMD was recognized in 2008 as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World by Innovest Strategic Advisors.

AMD Launches ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 Series Graphics for Notebooks, Delivering Up to Twice the Gaming Performance of Previous Generation

AMD announced ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series graphics, its next generation series of notebook graphics processors, bringing leading gaming and multimedia technology from the desktop to notebooks. These feature-rich graphics processors redefine mobile gaming with advanced capabilities including support for the latest Microsoft DirectX 10 games, a home theatre-quality HD multimedia experience, and energy-efficient features for long battery life to help users get the most out of their notebook at work, at home or at play.

• Next generation notebook graphics processors uphold AMD’s industry leading position for product quality, stability and longevity

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4800 series redefines HD gaming performance with support for ATI CrossFireX technology to deliver up to one teraFLOP of performance power.2 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 series offers a superb balance of performance and energy efficiency. Optimal for thin and light notebooks, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4300 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 series provide exceptional battery life for anyone on the go.

“ASUS constantly strives in delivering the best possible mobile computing solutions to our customers for exceptional multimedia experiences,” said Alvin Chou, Senior Product Manager for ASUS’ Notebook Business Unit. “We are pleased to offer the world’s first notebooks with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 graphics in the ASUS N51Tp and N81Vp; and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics in the F81Se.”

“The MSI EX625 notebook, with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 series graphics, and the GT725 notebook, with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4800 series graphics, represent the pinnacle of gaming and multimedia graphics for the mobile platform,” said Eric Kuo, MSI Sales Director. “AMD has exceptional graphics success that will bring unprecedented power and performance for the mobile platform.”

Redefining HD Gaming

All ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series graphics processors feature powerful 3D engines derived from the popular ATI Radeon HD 4800 series architecture and are capable of up to twice the gaming performance of the predecessor ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 Series at their respective power levels. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4800 series graphics processors are the industry’s first to support GDDR5 memory technology, providing nearly twice the memory bandwidth of GDDR3 and GDDR4, contributing to stunning improvements in game play and performance. Also featuring support for Microsoft DirectX 10.1, the entire ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series is ready to tackle the demands of next-generation game titles for crisp, detail-rich images and outstanding visual effects that deliver an unparalleled level of realism. Extreme gamers can push the boundaries of gaming performance with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 graphics processor delivering up to 1.8 times the performance compared to previous AMD discrete mobile graphics processors and with ATI CrossFireX technology, combine the performance of two ATI Mobility Radeon graphics processors to produce uncompromising image quality in any of today’s demanding 3D games.

“We’re proud to highlight ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 as the first notebook GPU to support specially designed, ultra-high bandwidth GDDR5 graphics memory to unleash the full-throttle gaming experience normally reserved for the high-end desktop gaming rigs,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager of AMD, Graphics Products Group. “Now, notebooks equipped with one or a pair of these speedy graphics processors can take on just about any PC game and run them smoothly at their maximum option settings.

"And for gaming-friendly multimedia notebooks, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 is the most potent power-efficient notebook GPU we've ever produced, making high-performance gaming practical in lightweight, elegantly styled notebooks like never before.”

Stunning HD multimedia experience

Home theatre enthusiasts can enjoy full 1080p HD viewing anywhere they want on HD-capable panels, monitors or televisions. Using AMD’s second generation Unified Video Decoder (UVD), the CPU is freed from other tasks so even when managing processor-intensive content such as Blu-ray movies, users can still instant message friends or conduct virus scans in the background without interruption. This also helps lower power consumption and reduces the need for high fan settings, enabling a quieter experience. DVD upscaling allows for enhanced picture quality when watching standard definition content on 1080p HDTV, while dynamic contrast adjusts the contrast and brightness during scenes to bring a crisp, vibrant picture to viewers. Specifically designed for HD video enthusiasts, ATI Avivo HD, an advanced image and video processing display technology, is found throughout the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series and provides brilliant colors, sharp images, and smooth playback of Blu-ray and HD video content on HD-capable panels, monitors or televisions. In addition, selected ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series graphics processors models are also the first ever mobile graphics solution that has advanced hi-definition audio capabilities using HDMI with 7.1 digital surround sound and DisplayPort Audio to create an immersive, home theatre-class experience.

Leading energy efficiency

AMD remains committed to designing energy efficient technology with optimal performance -- the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series is no exception. The new mobile graphics family features energy efficient, second generation 55nm process technology that, in the case of the ATI Mobility Radeon 4870 GPU, delivers an increase in performance-per-watt of more than sixty percent over the previous generation. Additional power-saving features include ATI PowerPlay, ATI PowerXpress, and ATI Switchable Graphics technologies.

ATI PowerPlay, an activity-based power management technology, intuitively conserves energy at idle or when demand is low and automatically adjusts between low and high states for greater performance when needed and energy conservation for long battery life. ATI PowerXpress and ATI Switchable Graphics technologies dynamically switch between the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series discrete graphics processor and the integrated graphics processor in the notebook -- all in real-time without needing to reboot -- to help provide exceptional performance when needed and to help extend battery life when on the move.

“The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 and ATI Mobility HD 4500 series offer outstanding performance per watt giving notebook manufacturers the ability to pack significantly more performance into thin designs as the previous years equivalent models,” said Bergman. “And for value oriented and ultrathin notebooks, these GPUs enable superior HD entertainment on the go coupled with low power requirements. We’re delivering a top-to-bottom line of mobile discrete graphics processors that deliver on the AMD hallmark of leading performance and energy efficiency.”

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series features a wide range of power-efficient and performance optimized configurations that vary in terms of size, operating speed and performance to satisfy the discrete graphics requirements of products ranging from ultra-mobile sub-notebooks to high-end gaming portables, small form-factor desktop PCs and everything in between.

Unprecedented Performance

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series graphics also provide performance benefits for defense applications.

“A critical component of Mercury's Converged Sensor Network Architecture is pushing substantial computing capability closer to the sensor in embedded environments. GPUs have proven to be well-suited for this. Mercury’s relationship with AMD affords us the ability to leverage cutting-edge GPU technology into embedded systems for this purpose,” said Scott Thieret, Technology Director for GPU Computing at Mercury Computer Systems. “The dual ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 GPUs, as deployed in our Sensor Stream Computing Platform, provide a teraFLOP of floating-point performance in a single 6U VXS card. This unprecedented compute density in an embedded system allows Mercury to solve tough stream computing problems for our military and commercial customers who contend with stringent size, power, and weight constraints.”

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4000 series graphics processors have been designed into quality notebooks from many leading notebook manufacturers such as ASUS, MSI and others, with models planned for availability beginning in Q1 2009.

Visually-Rich Experiences Take Center Stage During AMD’s Industry Insider Series Keynote at CES International 2009

Today at CES, AMD President and Chief Executive Officer Dirk Meyer delivered an Industry Insider Series keynote demonstrating how AMD collaborates with leading industry innovators to help create unsurpassed visual computing experiences featuring richer content, greater interactivity and expanded accessibility using cloud computing.

• AMD demonstrates “AMD Fusion Render Cloud” reference design to enable reduced rendering times and power the next generation of games, films
• AMD joined on-stage by industry luminaries from Dell, Electronic Arts, Inc., HP, Lucasfilm, Ltd., MTV, OTOY

“In today’s economy, computer users increasingly want technology that goes beyond ‘bigger’ or ‘faster’ and delivers greater value, interactivity and access. Today, AMD showed a series of compelling technologies, powered by our Fusion platforms, that enable a richer and more interactive visual experience,” said Meyer. “Fusion is about AMD leveraging its core strengths in graphics and microprocessor technologies to drive the increasingly integral part of the visual revolution that is changing computing experience at home, work and play.”

AMD customers and partners joined Meyer on-stage for a series of demonstrations highlighting how AMD and its partners are powering a new era of content-rich, visually dynamic experiences through AMD’s Fusion strategy.

Highlights from their appearances include:

• Lucasfilm, Ltd. CPU and platform technology pipeline: Lucasfilm presented a brief clip from their visual effects work on the film, Transformers, and talked of their partnership with AMD and use of AMD CPU and platform technology to date. “As a film company on the leading edge of digital effects, Lucasfilm is always interested in harnessing more power from the platform,” said Kevin Clark, Director of IT Operations, Lucasfilm. “We chose AMD five years ago based on their partnership and the strength of their platform. Together we look forward to continuing to raise the bar in technology and filmmaking.”
• Real-time rendering on “Dragon” platform technology: AMD partner, Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY and LightStage, used the AMD Dragon platform technology for desktop PCs, launched at CES today, to show how 3-D film rendering of a human-like figure can be done in real-time to make films more interactive and games more realistic.
• Dell XPS 625: Arthur Lewis, president, Alienware and general manager, Dell Gaming Group, showed this powerful new desktop fueled by Dragon platform technology. The platform combines the new AMD Phenom II X4 processor with award winning ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series graphics and AMD 7-Series chipsets to deliver massive performance headroom for HD entertainment, enthusiast gaming, and advanced multitasking.
• HP “Engine Room edition” notebook PC and HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC: Satjiv Chahil, senior vice president, Worldwide Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP, was joined onstage by MTV's news anchor SuChin Pak to unveil the winning design of the HP “Engine Room edition” Notebook PC. HP also showed the company’s HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook powered by the AMD platform for ultrathin notebooks. The platform combines the new AMD Athlon™ Neo processor, ATI RadeonTM X1250 integrated graphics and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 discrete graphics to bring true HD entertainment to a new category of stylish notebook PCs.
• AMD Fusion Render Cloud streaming of HD experience through the cloud: To demonstrate the power of the concept behind the AMD Fusion Render Cloud reference design, AMD, OTOY and EA showed how HD content can be streamed through the cloud to deliver the experience of the content to users on virtually any mobile device. In the demo powered by the AMD Fusion Render Cloud, Electronic Arts’ game Mercenaries 2: World In Flames was streamed to the HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC. Richard Hilleman, chief content officer for EA, spoke about the demonstration’s impact on the future of video game delivery in which virtually any device with a web browser and Internet connectivity can run the most demanding gaming titles that typically were confined to only the most powerful desktop PCs.

Also during the address, Meyer and AMD technology partner, OTOY, announced plans to develop a graphics supercomputer in 2009 based on the AMD Fusion Render Cloud. The supercomputer is expected to enable faster render times and have a wide variety of potential uses, including helping film studios make films more interactive, decreasing special effects production time, helping gaming companies increase realism while opening up new delivery channels for that content. For more information on the AMD Fusion Render Cloud, please see the accompanying press release.

AMD Supercomputer To Deliver Next-Generation Games and Applications Entirely Through the Cloud

Today at CES, AMD President and Chief Executive Officer Dirk Meyer and OTOY Chief Executive Officer Jules Urbach unveiled a plan to revolutionize the deployment, development and delivery of HD content through the “AMD Fusion Render Cloud”, a massively-parallel supercomputer. The announcement took place during AMD’s Industry Insider Series keynote at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater, where AMD was joined on stage by industry luminaries such as Lucasfilm, Dell, HP and Electronic Arts.

• Industry-leading CPU and graphics processing technologies in “AMD Fusion Render Cloud” designed to drive a revolution in content delivery and development
• One petaFLOPS device expected to be world’s fastest graphics supercomputer

“AMD has a long track record in the supercomputing world. Seven out of 10 of the world’s fastest machines, including the fastest two computers on the planet, are powered by AMD hardware,” said Meyer. “Today, AMD is pleased to announce a new kind of supercomputer unlike any other ever built. It is being designed to break the one petaFLOPS barrier, and to process a million compute threads across more than 1,000 graphics processors. We anticipate it to be the fastest graphics supercomputer ever. And it will be powered by OTOY’s software for a singular purpose: to make HD cloud computing a reality. We plan to have this system ready by the second half of 2009.”

The system is being designed to enable content providers to deliver video games, PC applications and other graphically-intensive applications through the Internet “cloud” to virtually any type of mobile device with a web browser without making the device rapidly deplete battery life or struggle to process the content. The AMD Fusion Render Cloud will transform movie and gaming experiences through server-side rendering – which stores visually rich content in a compute cloud, compresses it, and streams it in real-time over a wireless or broadband connection to a variety of devices such as smart phones, set-top boxes and ultra-thin notebooks. By delivering remotely rendered content to devices that are unable to store and process HD content due to such constraints as device size, battery capacity, and processing power, HD cloud computing represents the capability to bring HD entertainment to mobile users virtually anywhere.

The AMD Fusion Render Cloud will also enable remote real-time rendering of film and visual effects graphics on an unprecedented scale. Gaming companies can use the AMD Fusion Render Cloud for developing and deploying next-generation game content, to serve up virtual world games with unlimited photo-realistic detail, and take advantage of new delivery channels as open and diverse as the web itself.

“Hosted on AMD’s powerful new AMD Fusion Render platform, OTOY’s revolutionary software has given birth to the world’s first practical, scalable graphics supercomputer capable of true server-side HD cloud rendering. The AMD Fusion Render Cloud will allow directors like Robert Rodriguez of Troublemaker Studios to break through existing CPU-only and graphics processor-only render bottlenecks which have imposed limitations on the creation of true eye-definition assets,” said Charlie Boswell, Director of Digital Media and Entertainment, AMD.

“I use big technology to stay ahead of the artistic curve and that technology has been and continues to be AMD’s. Having the means to create interactive eye-definition movie and game assets with the AMD Fusion Render Cloud and to then to make them available to a broader audience through new distribution methods will bring about a renaissance in content creation and consumption,” said Robert Rodriguez, Director, Troublemaker Studios.

“Imagine watching a movie half-way through on your cell phone while on the bus ride home, then, upon entering your home or apartment, switch over to your HD TV and continue watching the same movie from exactly where you left off, seamlessly, and at full screen resolution,” continued Boswell. “Imagine playing the most visually intensive first person shooter game at the highest image quality settings on your cell phone without ever having to download and install the software, or use up valuable storage space or battery life with compute-intensive tasks. Those are just some of the experiences that AMD and OTOY plan to make possible with HD cloud computing of visually rich entertainment content.”

“By fusing industry-leading CPU technology with computationally dense, massively parallel graphics processors, the AMD Fusion Render Cloud can rival the world’s most powerful industrial computing devices, but require just a fraction of the floor space, power envelope and cost associated with many of today’s leading supercomputers,” said Jules Urbach, Chief Executive Officer, OTOY. “Combined with the power of OTOY’s revolutionary and flexible software platform, the AMD Fusion Render Cloud can transform the entertainment industry and remove the technical barriers between consumers and first-rate content experiences.”

The AMD Fusion Render Cloud will be powered by AMD-optimized hardware including the AMD Phenom™ II processors, AMD 790 chipsets and ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics processors, for unprecedented compute density and power efficiency. The AMD Fusion Render Cloud is an excellent example of AMD’s Fusion strategy, combining its partners’ dreams with AMD innovation, to bring powerful technologies to mainstream markets through the combined power of graphics processors and CPUs in a single platform.

“At Electronic Arts, we have been lucky enough to be a part of the creation of a number of changes in the world of personal computer gaming. From the first PCs to CD gaming to the advent of Internet gaming, we have embraced each new evolution of technology as an opportunity to bring new experiences to our customers,” said Richard Hilleman, Chief Creative Officer, Electronic Arts. “OTOY and AMD are at the cutting edge of thin client gaming, and we look forward to the new customers we can reach and the new interactive expressions that emerge from revolutionary technology like the AMD Fusion Render Cloud.”

About OTOY

OTOY is a leading software and content developer and provider of convergence technologies and special effects for the video game and film industries. OTOY works with a wide range of studios, game developers and visualization companies to create leading-edge visual and entertainment experiences. In 2008, Variety magazine listed OTOY CEO Jules Urbach as one of Hollywood’s top 10 innovators to watch in the next 12 months.

AMD Releases the Dragon, Desktop Platform Technology Provides Users with Soaring Performance for Less Than $900 USD

Empowering consumers to get elite-level computing performance for under $900 U.S. dollars, AMD launched “Dragon” platform technology for desktop PCs featuring the new AMD Phenom II X4 processor. Even the most demanding users such as enthusiasts and high-end gamers desire affordable systems capable of delivering HD entertainment, graphic-intensive game play at the highest settings their monitors can handle, as well as quick and easy transfer of video entertainment to and from mobile devices. Dragon platform technology provides the power to do it all by combining AMD’s highest-performing CPU, the AMD Phenom II X4 processor, with award winning ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series graphics and AMD 7-Series chipsets. And it’s offered at an incredible value with Dragon-based systems available for up to $1,200 U.S. dollars less than competing systems that deliver comparable performance.

• HP, Dell and Alienware plan “Dragon” platform technology-based desktop PCs
• Dragon platform technology capable of delivering HD gaming and video processing performance that rivals “extreme” PC platforms priced more than twice as high

Leading global PC manufacturers HP, Dell and Alienware plan to offer Dragon platform technology-based desktop systems in the first quarter of 2009, with Dell offering immediate availability in its Dell XPS desktop line. “The XPS 625 desktop powered by AMD’s Dragon platform technology features new AMD Phenom II processors to enable a significant boost in speed for enhanced gaming, as well as the flexibility to enable multi-tasking and HD video capabilities free from delays, stalls and lags,” said Arthur Lewis, general manager of Dell Gaming Group. “The XPS 625 gives gamers the unbelievable experience they expect at a price point that won’t break the bank.”

Reviews Celebrate “Dragon” price-performance leadership and headroom

Initial PC hardware review community assessments of Dragon platform technology and the AMD Phenom II X4 processor are notably positive and enthusiastic:

“As a result of its exceptional energy efficiency advances and an affordable price/performance ratio, AMD Phenom II X4 deserves our seldom-granted Recommended Buy award.” – Tom's Hardware

“The Phenom II puts AMD back in the running right in the middle of the enthusiast PC market, where price and performance converge in solid value.” - Scott Wasson of The Tech Report

“The new Phenom II X4 920 and 940 are easily the most powerful desktop processors released from AMD to date. We get the feeling these first two Phenom II X4 processors are just the tip of the iceberg.” - Marco Chiappetta

Massive Headroom

The heart of Dragon platform technology is the AMD Phenom II X4 processor featuring intelligent multi-core technology that automatically provides processing power where it’s needed most during multitasking among demanding applications. Offering frequencies up to 3.0 GHz with significant headroom for overclocking,6 AMD Phenom II CPUs give consumers the power to use their favorite productivity, HD gaming and multimedia applications without skipping a beat.

“With Dragon platform technology, AMD is changing the desktop industry landscape by offering affordable performance and maximum headroom for gaming, video editing, and other media-intensive tasks,” said Leslie Sobon, vice president of product marketing, AMD. “Through our Fusion platform approach, AMD is able to deliver CPUs, GPUs and chipsets that work better together to meet the industry’s evolving needs today and well into the future.”

Beyond HD

ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics and AMD 7-series chipsets enable Dragon platform technology to deliver a superior visual experience by giving consumers the ability to enjoy smooth video, brilliant images and immersive games. The platform offers fast DirectX 10 graphics to improve integrated graphics processor performance, and ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics give consumers the ultimate gaming experience, even at the highest game settings on display resolutions beyond HD, limited only by the resolution of their monitors.

“AMD is known for bringing fantastic hardware innovations to market in a way that allows consumers to enjoy new experiences and take full advantage of the gaming capabilities that DirectX delivers,” said Walt McGraw, director of Windows Gaming for Microsoft. “The new Dragon platform technology is another great example of AMD driving the kind of platform technology robustness and scalability that today’s PC users demand.”

Energy Efficiency

Dragon platform technology enables manufacturers to design and develop PCs that deliver performance when you need it while saving power when you don’t. AMD Phenom II CPUs feature AMD Cool'n'Quiet 3.0 which automatically provides dramatic power management improvements with minimal performance impact. Its efficient multi-core design offers low processor temperatures and quiet fans, even when computing in HD.

Free Software Supercharging

Consumers can take performance to the next level with free software from AMD.

• AMD Fusion for Gaming8 -- Easy-to-use program that, with a single click, automatically suspends resource consuming background tasks to focus more system performance on gaming.
• AMD OverDrive9 -- Highly-customizable utility with greater functionality that can help power-users take system performance even further, with advanced over-clocking controls that can be turned on and off with a single click.
• ATI Catalyst with ATI Stream technology -- Version 8.12 and later automatically merges the power of the CPU and GPU to enable a growing number of applications, such as ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater and CyberLink PowerDirector 7, to run dramatically faster than when using the CPU alone.
• ATI Video Converter -- With the latest Catalyst Driver 8.12, the new ATI Video Converter utilizes the graphics processor and ATI Stream technology to quickly and easily convert your videos to play on portable entertainment devices much faster than converting video using a microprocessor alone.
• AMD Fusion Media Explorer Beta -- Simplifies the entertainment experiencing by enabling a simple but powerful way for consumers to interact with their music, photos, movies, TV and social media on their PC. This utility offers one-button postings of photos to Facebook accounts as well as automatic related media searches when the system is online, plus much more.

Elite Performance for Less Money

End users can experience high-end performance with Dragon platform technology from AMD, all while spending approximately $1,200 U.S. dollars less than competitive offerings. Dragon platform technology consisting of the new AMD Phenom II X4 processor, ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB graphics card, the AMD 790GX motherboard and 4 GB of DDR2-1066 memory can be purchased for approximately $900 USD. By comparison, a competitive platform consisting of an Intel Core i7 3.2 GHz, x58 motherboard, 3 GB of DDR3-1333 memory and the same GPU can be purchased for just over $2100. Both platforms run the most demanding PC games like Crysis at elite performance levels, and deliver comparable Crysis benchmark frame rates at an average of 38 frames per second.

Availability and Phenom II Processor Pricing

Consumers can expect to see systems featuring Dragon platform technology from leading system builders and OEMs in the first quarter of 2009. In addition to Dragon platform technology-based offerings from AMD’s OEM partners, PC enthusiasts who enjoy building their own systems can search “Dragon” on popular e-tail sites.

In addition to Dragon platform technology, individual AMD Phenom II X4 processors will be available from AMD channel e-tailers at launch:

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition processor – (3.0GHz) – $275 MSRP
AMD Phenom II X4 920 processor – (2.8GHz) – $235 MSRP

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) Clears Path for Creation of “The Foundry Company”

AMD and the Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) announced today that they had obtained clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS") regarding the creation of The Foundry Company, their leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing joint venture. CFIUS also has determined that the proposed additional investment in AMD by Mubadala is not a covered transaction subject to CFIUS review.

• U.S. Government Clearance Marks Major Milestone Toward Completion of New Global Foundry Transaction

About AMD

Advanced Micro Devices is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and industry partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play.

About ATIC

The Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) was created in 2008. A technology investment company wholly owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, ATIC is focused on making significant investments in the advanced technology sector, both locally and internationally. Its mandate is to generate returns that deliver long-term benefits to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

ATIC seeks to leverage the unique advantages it enjoys as an investor from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to identify and realize long-term investment opportunities in the highly competitive and capital-intensive advanced technology sector. These advantages include significant and reliable capital, a patient investment philosophy, and a subsequently long-term investment horizon.