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The following information is the text of a product announcement
concerning the use of a RISC processor, the Am29000, in new Mac
graphic solutions from Apple.

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Best Regards; Brett Stewart
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.           1-512-462-5321  FAX
5900 E. Ben White Blvd MS561           1-512-462-4336  Telephone
Austin, Texas 78741

AMD's RISC PROCESSOR USED IN NEW GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR CARD FROM APPLE

--- Am29000 helps make QuickDraw environment up to 30 times faster ---

SUNNYVALE, CA -- MARCH 19, 1990 -- Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. today
announced that its Am2000(tm) 32-BIT RISC microprocessor is integrated
into Apple Computer Inc.'s new high-performance graphics display card
being announced today.  Apple's Macintosh Display Card 8*24 GC, which
uses the Am29000, is the first significant use of a RISC (reduced
instruction set computer) microprocessor in a high-volume personal
computer application.

The Macintosh Display Card 8*24 GC is a graphics coprocessor and
24-bit video card that accelerates the responsiveness of all Macintosh
applications -- especially graphics-intensive ones.  It is compatible
with all modular Macintosh(r) computers (II, IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx).

"Apple's use of the Am29000 in their new graphics card is evidence of
the value RISC technology can bring to the personal computer market in
a non-CPU application," said Subodh Toprani, director of marketing for
AMD's embedded processor division.  "It is an excellent example of how
CISC (complex instruction set computer) and RISC can work together in
today's office environment and strong confirmation of our embedded
processor strategy."

The Macintosh Display Card 8*24 GC increases graphics performance by
implementing the fast coprocessing capabilities of a dedicated
Am29000.  It supports full 24-bit true color on the AppleColor
High-Resolution RGB Monitor and full 256-level true gray scale on all
Apple(r) displays. 

The new apple card takes advantage of the power of the
high-performance Am29000 (29K(tm)) to work in conjunction with the
system's central processing unit (CPU).  This allows the CPU to work
on other tasks while the 29K-based card executes graphics commands.
Depending on the application, the card accelerates the Macintosh
computer's QuickDraw-based graphics by five to 30 times over typical
Macintosh drawing speeds.  Additionally, the card will be able to
incorporate new graphics innovations as they become available because
the Am29000 processor is initialized through a QuickDraw(tm) software
file.  The GC card will be able to take advantage of future QuickDraw
enhancements simply by replacing the file.

"From the beginning, our objective for our new display cards has been
to raise the standard of graphics on the Macintosh.  The GC card's
combination of graphics acceleration and 24-bit color enables
Macintosh users to work as easily with photo-quality images as with
black and white images in many different types of applications," said
Mark Gonzales, graphics hardware product manager at Apple, "We chose
to use the Am29000 because it can be programmed to do a great many
different things and do them quickly.  The general purpose processing
capabilities of the Am29000 were key to achieving our goal of
extending the capabilities of Macintosh users."

"Apple has always been the leader and innovator in the world of
graphics," said Toprani, "We are pleased that AMD and the 29k can play
a part in thier continuing efforts to bring increased levels of
performance to the Macintosh environment."

AMD has targeted the 29k at the embedded systems market -- which
includes applications such as graphics, networking, laser printers and
scanners -- and has recorded more that 200 design wins to date.
Embedded processors are used to augment the processing capabilities of
central processors by providing shared processing power for specific
applications.  For example, a networked office environment could
utilize three embedded processors -- one each as a network controller,
graphics controller and laser printer controller -- to support the
single CPU System.

According to recent estimates from In-Stat, a market research firm
based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the embedded systems market for 32-bit
RISC microporcessors will comprise 80 percent of the entire 32-bit
RISC market in 1992.

The 29K family of products - 16, 20, 25, and 33MHz processors -- and
the Am29005, a low-end version of the Am29000, give users the ability
to develop systems that range in performance from six to 25 MIPS.  The
low price of the processor combined with its ability to interface to
low-cost memory devices makes it attractive for cost-sensitive
consumer electronic applications like graphics and laser printers.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. one of the five largest U.S. - based
manufacturers of integrated circuits, produces microprocessors and
related peripherals, memories, programmble logic devices and circuits
for telecommunications, office automation and networking applications.
AMD has sales offices worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in
Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, California; Austin, Texas; Atsugi, Japan;
Penang, Malaysia; Singaproe; Bangkok; Thailand; and Basingstoke,
England.  In its fiscal year ended December 31, 1989, AMD reported
sales of more than $1.1 billion.

                               ###

Readers may call John Peskuric at (512)462-5226 for more information.

Am29000 and 29K are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
QuickDraw is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.


	 

Best Regards; Brett Stewart
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.           1-512-462-5321  FAX
5900 E. Ben White Blvd MS561           1-512-462-4336  Telephone
Austin, Texas 78741