Judging by the presentation I received at TechXNY from AMD Computation Products Group Ed Ellett, AMD is on the verge of making a 64-bit server bet that so far appears to be a risky proposition. There's no question in my mind that AMD's forthcoming Opteron processor (formerly code-named "Hammer") has innovative and groundbreaking technology. Without ever having tested the processor, the only attribute (and its chief selling point) that I can vouch for is the hybrid design that allows the chip to run 32- or 64-bit operating systems natively. Ellett claims this feature is extremely important to IT managers because it means they won't have to reinvest in new 64-bit machines (the way they'd have to if they stuck with Intel-based systems once they decide to start making the switch).

Another reason AMD says Opteron should be the prime processor architecture (and one that I can't vouch for) is that, in its 32-bit mode, it will offer twice the performance of its Intel-based counterparts. In other words, one AMD processor could handle the equivalent workload of two closely rated XEON processors thereby affecting the overall costs of multiprocessor systems and the pay-by-the-processor licenses of enterprise applications like Oracle's. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen. So far, no independently run and audited benchmarks have been published.