AMD: Hammer's got Linux backing nailed

**cloverm** · 02-28-2002, 07:24 PM

It's Hammer time for Linux.

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices said Thursday that it expects the next major public update for the Linux operating system to include support for the company's x86-64 technology--the basis for its next generation of processors, known as the Hammer family.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-847712.html

**pbharris** · 02-28-2002, 07:55 PM

ahh.
my favorite OS on my favortite platform

**deepfreeze** · 03-01-2002, 12:16 AM

I love it!!!! ;D

But...am I the only one disturbed by hearing "It's Hammer Time" again, even after so many years have passed

Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em!

**Ashcrow** · 03-01-2002, 12:27 AM

Hmmm. I don't know how I feel about this. AFAIK Hammer isn't fully 64bit. It's kind of a split with native 32 and 64 as opposed to Intels new line wich is fully 64 and emulates 32 for legacy stuff.

Call me crazy but I'll jump the Ia ship as soon as I can. Both AMD and Intel are extreamly close to MS (Athlon XP ... and we have all heard of the famous saying Wintel).

**stryder144** · 03-01-2002, 01:32 AM

Hmmm. I don't know how I feel about this. AFAIK Hammer isn't fully 64bit. It's kind of a split with native 32 and 64 as opposed to Intels new line wich is fully 64 and emulates 32 for legacy stuff.

Call me crazy but I'll jump the Ia ship as soon as I can. Both AMD and Intel are extreamly close to MS (Athlon XP ... and we have all heard of the famous saying Wintel).

From what I understand (and I am not an engineer, I just play one on TV

), the Hammer series of chips are fully 64bit, it is just that it uses the x86 arch instead of a proprietary one. That is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because all it should take is a recompile of your fav programs and they will work. Bad, because they will not have the special speed/arch improvements that the ia64/sparc/g5 has/will have.

I would love to have one. I will wait until the second generation comes out, though. That way, all of the motherboard/chipset/cpu problems can be ironed out.

Cheers

**Killer_Penguin** · 03-13-2002, 02:08 PM

It will be something like the the difference between 386 and 486... somethign like that.

It will be able to run in a 32bit mode or a 64bit mode. When booting a 64bit os, it will run all 64bit apps, but it can also run 32bit apps in that mode.

or it can just boot/run a 32bit OS.

I think it will be a GOOD thing to stick to x86 foundations, instead of going off in yet ANOTHER 64bit direction... I'm very interested in getting one of these puppies!