The AMD K8 Hammer, also code-named SledgeHammer, is a

computer processor Cryptominer, In computing and computer science, a processor or processing unit is an electrical component (circuit (computer science), digital circuit) that performs operations on an external data source, usually Memory (computing), memory or som ...

microarchitecture In electronics, computer science and 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 ...

AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...

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

AMD64 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit extension of the x86 instruction set. It was announced in 1999 and first available in the AMD Opteron family in 2003. It introduces two new operating modes: 64-bit mode an ...

64-bit In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing units (CPU) and arithmetic logic units (ALU) are those that are based on processor registers, a ...

extension to the

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel, based on the 8086 microprocessor and its 8-bit-external-bus variant, the 8088. Th ...

instruction set architecture In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, ...

Features

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 XP. ...

- first 64-bit consumer desktop *

Athlon 64 X2 The Athlon 64 X2 is the first native dual-core 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 enabled Athlon 64, joining it with anoth ...

- first dual-core ('X2') desktop **

Athlon X2 The Athlon 64 X2 is the first native dual-core 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 enabled Athlon 64, joining it with anoth ...

- 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 XP. T ...

- enthusiast desktop (multipliers unlocked) *

Sempron Sempron has been the marketing name used by AMD for several different budget desktop CPUs, using several different technologies and CPU socket formats. The Sempron replaced the AMD Duron processor and competed against Intel's Celeron#Celeron D (Pr ...

- low-end, low-cost desktop *

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

- 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 In ...

- mobile computing market *

Turion 64 X2 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 Corporation, Intel's mobile processors, initially the ''Pentium ...

- 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, codename, 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 ...

''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 (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...

) 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 In the x86 architecture, the CPUID instruction (identified by a CPUID opcode) is a processor supplementary instruction (its name derived from " CPU Identification") allowing software to discover details of the processor. It was introduced by Int ...

processor instruction. In

hexadecimal Hexadecimal (also known as base-16 or simply hex) is a Numeral system#Positional systems in detail, positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of sixteen. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using ten symbo ...

numbering, 0F(h) (where the ''h'' represents hexadecimal numbering) equals the

decimal The decimal numeral system (also called the base-ten positional numeral system and denary or decanary) is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers. It is the extension to non-integer numbers (''decimal fractions'') of th ...

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 K08 X86 microarchitectures Computer-related introductions in 2003 {{microcompu-stub

Features

Processors

Nomenclature

See also

References