View source for AMD K8

{{Short description|CPU microarchitecture}}
{{Infobox CPU
| name           = K8 - Hammer
| alt = AMD K8 Architecture
| image          = AMD_K8.PNG
| image_size     = 138px
| caption        = AMD K8 Architecture
| produced-start = late 2003
| produced-end   = April 2014
| slowest        = 1600  | slow-unit      = MHz
| fastest        = 3200  | fast-unit      = MHz
| fsb-slowest    = 800   | fsb-slow-unit  = MHz
| fsb-fastest    = 1000  | fsb-fast-unit  = MHz
| size-from      = 130 nm
| size-to        = 65 nm
| manuf1         = [[AMD]]
| core1          = [[Sempron]]
| core2          = [[Mobile Sempron]]
| core3          = [[Opteron]]
| core4          = [[Athlon 64]]/[[Athlon 64 FX|FX]]/[[Athlon 64 X2|X2]]
| core5          = [[Mobile Athlon 64]]
| core6          = [[Turion 64]]/[[Turion 64 X2|X2]]
| predecessor    = [[K7 (microarchitecture)|K7 - Athlon]]
| successor      = [[AMD 10h|Family 10h (K10)]]
| sock1          = [[Socket 754]]
| sock2          = [[Socket 939]]
| sock3          = [[Socket 940]]
| sock4          = [[Socket AM2]]
| sock5          = [[Socket F]]
| sock6          = [[Socket S1]]
| arch           = [[X86-64#AMD64|AMD64]] ([[x86-64]])
}}

The '''AMD K8 Hammer''', also [[Codename|code-named]] SledgeHammer, is a [[computer processor]] [[microarchitecture]] designed by [[Advanced Micro Devices|AMD]] as the successor to the [[AMD K7|AMD K7 Athlon]] microarchitecture. The K8 was the first implementation of the [[AMD64]] [[64-bit]] extension to the [[x86]] [[instruction set architecture]].<ref name=leon>{{cite web|title=List of AMD CPU microarchitectures - LeonStudio|url=http://leonstudio.org/p/165|website=LeonStudio - CodeFun|access-date=12 September 2015|date=3 August 2014|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926092938/http://leonstudio.org/p/165|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=hans>{{cite web|author1=Hans de Vries|title=AMD's Next Generation Micro Processor's Architecture|url=http://www.chip-architect.com/news/2001_10_02_Hammer_microarchitecture.html|website=Chip Architect|access-date=12 September 2015|date=2 October 2001}}</ref>

== Features  ==
{{empty section|date=March 2023}} <!-- Template:AMD x86 CPU features was deleted per oldid=1142398499#Template:AMD_x86_CPU_features -->

== Processors ==
Processors based on the K8 core include:

* [[Athlon 64]] - first 64-bit consumer desktop
* [[Athlon 64 X2]] - first dual-core ('X2') desktop
** [[Athlon 64 X2#Athlon X2|Athlon X2]] - later model dual-core desktop with '64' omitted
* [[Athlon 64 FX]] - enthusiast desktop (multipliers unlocked)
* [[Sempron]] - low-end, low-cost desktop
* [[Opteron]] -  server market
* [[Turion 64]] - mobile computing market
* [[Turion 64 X2]] - 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]] ''K8'' for the [[Athlon 64]] processor family, AMD no longer uses K-nomenclatures (which originally stood for [[AMD#K5|Kryptonite]]<ref name="Forbes-Chip-Names">{{cite news | first=Arik | last=Hesseldahl | title=Why Cool Chip Code Names Die | date=2000-07-06 | url =https://www.forbes.com/2000/07/06/mu2.html | work =forbes.com | access-date = 2007-07-14 }}</ref>) 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]] 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.)

== See also ==
* [[List of AMD Athlon 64 processors]] - desktop
* [[List of AMD Athlon X2 processors]] - desktop
* [[List of AMD Sempron processors]] - low end
* [[List of AMD Opteron processors]] - server
* [[List of AMD Turion processors]] - mobile
* [[AMD K9]]
* [[AMD 10h]]
* [[Jim Keller (engineer)]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{AMD processors}}

[[Category:AMD x86 microprocessors|K08]]
[[Category:AMD microarchitectures|K08]]
[[Category:X86 microarchitectures]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 2003]]

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