"AMD recognizes that today's games are single-threaded. Users who crave the absolute best performance on 3D games and extreme applications can experience realistic physics and lighting, as well as gripping artificial intelligence and sound, with the single-core AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor," said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president, Desktop Business, Microprocessor Solutions Sector (MSS), AMD. "Since the AMD Athlon FX processor was first introduced, AMD has consistently delivered the absolute best performing PC processor for games. Now in our fourth iteration, the AMD Athlon 64 FX family of processors continues to remain unmatched in the industry, designed to provide even the most demanding gamer with reduced memory latency and increased performance."

As PC gaming continues to escalate, the award-winning AMD Athlon 64 FX family of processors consistently outperforms the competition, performing up to 20 percent faster than competitive products on 3D games. Because today's games are single-threaded, 3D gamers who seek to break the limits on application performance will be best served in the foreseeable future with the incredible performance of the single-core AMD Athlon 64 FX processor. AMD plans to introduce a dual-core version of the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor when multi-threaded software games are available to take advantage of its benefits.

"The AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 processor is the fastest CPU available for running Half-Life(R) 2, and the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor will be even faster," said Gabe Newell, founder and president of Valve. "I have an AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 processor in my personal gaming system, and I look forwarding to upgrading to the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor."

"Gamers, and those pushing the performance envelope on PCs, have clearly seen AMD continue to deliver the most powerful set of processors in their class," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst for The Enderle Group. "The AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor is the highest performing single-core processor in the consumer market and I believe that at least for the next 18 months, it is this single-core performance that will be most important to the most competitive players of PC games. With the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor, AMD is, once again, showcasing that they know and embrace this segment better then anyone else."

To help satisfy the growing demands from gamers and enthusiasts to raise the bar on high-performance gaming, Velocity Micro is among the leading manufacturers planning to offer AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor-based systems.

"Velocity Micro understands what gamers want and strives to deliver the ultimate gaming experience, going above and beyond gamers' expectations," said Randy Copeland, President and CEO, Velocity Micro. "By offering systems based on the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor, Velocity Micro further confirms our dedication to deliver gaming PCs optimized for performance with single-threaded games. Our systems are designed to offer maximum performance with the highest resolution, bringing the world of games to life."

For prosumer and digital media enthusiasts, as well as those who run many software applications simultaneously, AMD recently launched the AMD Athlon(TM) 64 X2 dual-core processor. Currently available from over 40 system builders worldwide, this new processor delivers an experience unmatched in the industry. Designed for desktop and desktop-replacement notebooks, these new dual-core processors "smash the hourglass" icon by delivering performance improvements of up to 80 percent on select digital media and productivity applications compared to single-core AMD Athlon 64 processors.

The AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor is available immediately worldwide. All pricing is in 1,000-unit PIB quantities. Systems based on the AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor are expected to be available from the following companies:

• Europe: Amitech, Atelco, Dacco, Evesham, Fox, Hyrican, Komplett, Levi, Mesh, and Scan
• U.S. and Canada: ABS, AFT, Alienware, Bass, BOXX, Canada Computers, Cyberpower, Elite PC, Falcon Northwest, Hypersonic, Micro Center, Might Micro, Monarch, Nor-Tech, Now Micro, PC Club, Planet Computers, Polywell, Systemax, Totally Awesome, Velocity Micro, Voodoo PC, Zipzoomfly, and ZT Group
• Japan: Am-system Co., Bless Corporation, and Thirdwave Corporation

The AMD Athlon 64 FX-57 processor is priced at $1031. For pricing details, please visit: http://www.amd.com/pricing.