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AMD Predicts End of 32-bit Processors

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the end-of-the-longint-as-we-know-it dept.

DDumitru writes "Infoworld reports that AMD predicts it will stop producing 32-bit processors by the end of 2005. By depending on price cuts for Athlon-64 and Opteron, AMD is predicting that it's sales of 32-bit CPUs will fall off and obsolete 32-bit systems in less than 3 years. This is either a push forward, or a tactic to try to capture the 64/32 bit standard leaving Intel in the rear. Or it could just be hype." I'm not in a hurry to ditch any of my 32-bit machines, so long as I get them replaced by 2038.

2 of 587 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yes, but, by dmayle · · Score: 5, Informative

    I don't know why I'm doing your work for you, but you should try educating yourself.
    Check out BIOS32 services. It's a 32-bit entrance for BIOS services, and it's an industry standard...
    PDF link

  2. Re:16-bit? 16-bit? by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Informative
    Looks like the Apollo guidance computers were 15-bits. From a random Google hit:

    Each computer had two types of memory, erasable and fixed. The fixed memory contained the programs, constants and landmark coordinates using 36,864 terms or words, each of 15 bits length. That came to a grand total of 74 kilobytes of memory. The erasable memory, which was used to store variable data used in calculations or as registers for logic operations, had only 2,048 15-bit terms.

    I remember reading elsewhere that the 36 Kwords of ROM were hard coded by hand threading the bit patterns with tiny wires and magnetic cores, and then they were sealed in a block of epoxy. Turnaround time to fix bugs took weeks.