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The First PCs With The Hammer CPU” –>
Up And Running For The First Time: AMD’s “Claw Hammer”
The layman and expert will be equally impressed: Tom’s Hardware Guide received the opportunity to take a closer look at two working test systems – each of which was equipped with the AMD “Claw Hammer”. Suse Linux (64-bit) was installed on one of the PCs, and Windows XP (32-bit version) was installed on the other.
Hammer processors compared: Sledge Hammer (left) for use with servers, and Claw Hammer (right) for desktop use.
Although the test systems were using models that are still in their very early stages, they seemed to be stable. However, AMD was unwilling to tell us the clock speed and performance details. Also, they did not grant our wish to restart both of the PCs in order to look at the BIOS messages, despite repeated requests. So for now, we bring you the first exclusive images of the two systems, as well as the AMD “Solo 2” motherboard.
Two of the early test systems with the AMD Claw Hammer: the one on the left with Suse Linux and the one on the right with Windows XP.
An open Claw Hammer system.
A system running with Claw Hammer.
Details About Claw Hammer
Basic architecture of the Claw Hammer from AMD.
The basic architecture of the Claw Hammer is shown in the illustration above. Some interesting new aspects are the integrated memory controller, as well as the HyperTransport unit. The processor can be run in three different modes: in standard 32-bit mode, in compatibility mode and in pure 64-bit mode. Exact information about the clock speed, CPU core voltage and performance are not yet known.
The First Details About The AMD 8000 Chipset
Schematic structure of the AMD 8000 chipset.
Structure of the AMD 8000 chipset for servers.
The Foundation: AMD Solo 2
The “Solo 2” motherboard is equipped with an AMD “Claw Hammer” as well as 256 MB DDR memory.
View of the Southbridge AMD-8111, which contains the I/O-Hub.
The Northbridge AMD-8151 is located in a PGA case. A few humorous motherboard designers wanted to be eternalized here. The hammer is very similar to the logo of Tom’s Hardware Guide. If you play those 5 notes you will hear the Intel jingle.
A side view of the AMD “Solo 2” motherboard. Note the three USB 2.0 ports.
Future Perspective: The Latest AMD Roadmap
The AMD roadmap for 2002 and 2003.
The latest AMD roadmap shows that the manufacturer will soon be making CPUs based on the 0.13-micron process. The first CPUs for 64-bit computing, the Claw Hammer, has just been completed using the SOI process and 0.13-technology.
After this, AMD plans to launch the server version of the Hammer, the Sledge Hammer. However, there’s still time for that, because ultimately, Intel won’t be making such giant steps with its Itanium (or McKinley) either.
Conclusion: The First Working Claw Hammer Systems
Our brief visit with AMD was well worth it – we were able to evaluate two PC systems that were equipped with a Claw Hammer processor. For both of the systems, the AMD “Solo 2” motherboard served as the basis. The “Solo 2” is built on the 8000 chipset, which consists of the Northbridge AMD-8151 and the Southbridge AMD-8111.
AMD did not want to give us further details about the exact clock speed of the CPU, nor did they give us details on the performance under Linux and Windows XP (32-bit version). Nevertheless, we are still looking forward to seeing the first “Claw Hammer” PC systems from the production line.