The AMD K8 Hammer, also

code-named A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

SledgeHammer, is a computer processor

microarchitecture In computer engineering, microarchitecture, also called computer organization and sometimes abbreviated as µarch or uarch, is the way a given instruction set architecture (ISA) is implemented in a particular processor. A given ISA may be imp ...

designed by AMD as the successor to the AMD K7 Athlon microarchitecture. The K8 was the first implementation of the AMD64

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit CPUs and ALUs are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A comp ...

extension to the x86

instruction set architecture In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA), also called computer architecture, is an abstract model of a computer. A device that executes instructions described by that ISA, such as a central processing unit (CPU), is called an ...

Features

CPU features table

Processors

Processors based on the K8 core include: *

Athlon 64 The Athlon 64 is a ninth-generation, AMD64-architecture microprocessor produced by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), released on September 23, 2003. It is the third processor to bear the name '' Athlon'', and the immediate successor to the Athlon ...

- first 64-bit consumer desktop * Athlon 64 X2 - first dual-core ('X2') desktop **

Athlon X2 The Athlon 64 X2 is the first native Multi-core processor, dual-core desktop computer, desktop central processing unit (CPU) designed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). It was designed from scratch as native dual-core by using an already multi-CPU ...

- later model dual-core desktop with '64' omitted *

Athlon 64 FX The Athlon 64 is a ninth-generation, AMD64-architecture microprocessor produced by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), released on September 23, 2003. It is the third processor to bear the name ''Athlon'', and the immediate successor to the Athlon#Athlo ...

- enthusiast desktop (multipliers unlocked) * Sempron - low-end, low-cost desktop *

Opteron Opteron is AMD's x86 former server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture (known generically as x86-64 or AMD64). It was released on April 22, 2003, with the ''Sled ...

- server market *

Turion 64 AMD Turion is the brand name AMD applies to its x86-64 low-power consumption (''mobile'') processors codenamed ''K8L''. The Turion 64 and Turion 64 X2/Ultra processors compete with Intel's mobile processors, initially the ''Pentium M'' and the Int ...

- mobile computing market *

Turion 64 X2 AMD Turion is the brand name AMD applies to its x86-64 low-power consumption (''mobile'') Central Processing Unit, processors codenamed ''K8L''. The Turion 64 and Turion 64 X2/Ultra processors compete with Intel Corporation, Intel's mobile processo ...

- dual-core mobile processor The K8 core is very similar to the K7. The most radical change is the integration of the AMD64 instructions and an on-chip memory controller. The memory controller drastically reduces memory latency and is largely responsible for most of the performance gains from K7 to K8.

Nomenclature

It is perceived by the PC community that after the use of the

codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...

''K8'' for the

processor family, AMD no longer uses K-nomenclatures (which originally stood for

Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous r ...

) since no K-nomenclature naming convention beyond ''K8'' has appeared in official AMD documents and press releases after the beginning of 2005. AMD now refers to the codename ''K8'' processors as the ''Family 0Fh'' processors. 10h and 0Fh refer to the main result of the CPUID x86 processor instruction. In

hexadecimal In mathematics and computing, the hexadecimal (also base-16 or simply hex) numeral system is a positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of 16. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using 10 symbols, h ...

numbering, 0F(h) (where the ''h'' represents hexadecimal numbering) equals the decimal number 15, and 10(h) equals the decimal number 16. (The "K10h" form that sometimes pops up is an improper hybrid of the "K" code and ''Family'' identifier number.)

References

K08 Advanced Micro Devices microarchitectures X86 microarchitectures {{microcompu-stub

Features

Processors

Nomenclature

See also

References