At what was, for AMD, a spectacular launch in San Francisco, the vendor reeled off a parade of partners and OEMs who will be supporting or using the client version of its hybrid 32 bit/64 bit architecture. Keys OEMs include Hewlett Packard and Fujitsu, while the chip also got a plug from Sun Micro’s outgoing chief scientist, Bill Joy.

AMD also highlighted recent comments from Intel, which suggested the chip giant is also contemplating how to get 64 computing to the desktop, making the point that it had gotten there first.

However, while Advanced Micro Devices has indeed beaten its arch rival to the punch, it has still to prove that there is enough mass market demand for 64 bit computing to sustain its business, and help pull it back into the black after a string of loss making quarters.

AMD unveiled four processors yesterday: the Athlon 64 3200+ for desktops; the Athlon 64 3200+ and 3000+ for notebooks; and the Athlon 64 FX. All feature the same 64 bit architecture, including AMD’s HyperTransport interconnect and integrated memory controller, found in the vendor’s Opteron server chips, and are built on 130 nanometer SOI technology. The company will move to 90 nanomenter production next year. They all support up to 1MB of level 2 cache. The key difference between the desktop and notebook products, is that the latter comes in a lidless package.

The FX features, in addition, 128k level one cache, 1MB of level two cache, and a 128 bit memory controller, compared to the 64 bit memory controller of the other chips. In addition, the FX operates at a slightly higher clockspeed, 2.2GHz compared to the 3200+’s 2GHz.

The 3200+ is priced at $417, while the 3000+ for notebooks is priced at $278. The FX will be priced at $733.

Yesterday’s presentation focused on the Athlon 64’s potential appeal to demanding consumers, and digital content creators. The company clearly hopes to grab a chunk of the holiday shopping market with the new devices. It cited a number of vendors who will be shipping immediately, and said HP would be shipping an Athlon 64 box in the next quarter. AMD will clearly rely on what it claims will be cinematic graphics to draw in customers.

While Microsoft’s 64 bit version of Windows XP will not ship until early next year, AMD insisted that the Athlon 64 would immediately draw consumers as it would still be the best performing 32 bit platform.

At the same time, Rich Heye, vice president and general manager of AMD’s microprocessor business unit said We’re absolutely not writing off [the corporate market] right now. He claimed the prospect of a single architecture spanning complex servers down to notebooks would be very attractive to corporate IT departments.

AMD president and CEO Hector Ruiz said the company absolutely intends to move the Athlon 64 into the commercial market, adding that this would happen, probably before people think.

Chip industry analyst Nathan Brookwood, said there was no doubt the devices offered superb performance on 32 bit software. He said the company already had a presence in the business market, though this was mainly in the small and medium space. As for AMD’s contention that IT managers were looking for a single architecture, he said, For some companies that might be very attractive.

The company could capture the imaginations of high performance PC enthusiasts with the current product line, and should be able to hold the line on its current pricing at least till the end of the year, the 130 nm chip was still large, he said. But, he continued, They need to make it smaller. By ramping up on 90 nanometer next year, he said, it would be able to drive down the price much lower.

This article is based upon material originally published by ComputerWire