"Hammer-time" for Microsoft

AMD, Microsoft 'Hammer' out a deal

The rest of this story is pun-free, honest :D

The companies are expected to announce later today that Microsoft will offer a version of the Windows operating system that supports AMD's Hammer family of processors. The chips, which will debut later this year, are an important next step for AMD. Not only will they have the job of carrying forward the company's successes with Athlon, but also they will play a huge role in the chipmaker's plans for future growth in servers. Support from a Microsoft operating system is a crucial element in ensuring success, especially in the server arena, where AMD seeks to form new relationships with large manufacturers and win new corporate customers.

Microsoft also is expected to announce that it will provide support for Hammer family chips in a future update to its Windows XP operating system. Microsoft's endorsement would give a leg up to both desktop and server versions of Hammer, pointing the way to desktop PC vendors and server makers that offering the chips in future Windows-based machines. The server-side endorsement would provide an especially large boost among corporate buyers who typically use Windows or Linux operating systems. AMD counts winning these buyers over as a group as key to future growth. But, up until now, Microsoft has remained mum on whether it would offer support for the chips. Its endorsement will help AMD complete the picture for Sledgehammer, the server version of Hammer, due next year. Until then, the chipmaker plans to launch ClawHammer, a desktop PC processor due later this year.

UPDATE:

"Since the inception of the PC, hardware and software have been inextricably linked. The best advances in technology happen when the hardware and software are in sync. The union of AMD's 8th-generation processor technology and a Microsoft Windows operating system built to support that technology lays the groundwork for broader industry adoption of 64-bit computing platforms, especially in the enterprise, and helps drive performance to stunning new levels," said Dirk Meyer, group vice president of AMD's Computation Products Group.

"At Microsoft, our vision for 64-bit computing is a highly scalable and affordable platform that is easy to deploy, easy to manage and easy to develop applications for," said Dave Cutler, Sr. Distinguished Engineer, Microsoft's Windows Team, and one of the world's foremost software architects. "AMD's 8th-generation architecture gives customers great 32-bit performance and 64-bit capabilities on a single system. Together, AMD's 8th-generation processors and Windows should provide customers a flexible platform and a compelling value proposition."

News source: ZdNet