Future AMD Athlon 64 microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices that are scheduled for release in early 2005 will support SSE3 technology, a capability that is now available only on Intel Pentium 4 processors.

A report over AnandTech web-site claims AMD’s code-named Venice and San Diego central processing units refer to E0 revisions of 90nm AMD64 chips that sport SSE3 technology. The processors called Venice are said to be flavours of AMD Athlon 64 products and are expected to be launched in early 2005. The San Diego code-name refers to new flavour of AMD Athlon 64 FX microprocessor intended for high-end desktops. Desktop AMD64 chips Revision E0 are also claimed to sport certain “bug fixes and performance improvements over those found in Revision D0”.

SSE3 is an instruction set found in Intel Pentium 4 processors code-named Prescott. SSE3 includes 13 new instructions developed for some specific tasks. While guidelines that allowed software makers to take advantage of the SSE3 emerged in mid-2003, actual programs that take advantage of the SSE3 today is not large.

AMD currently supplies three flavours of desktop processors produced using innovative 90nm process technology: AMD Athlon 64 3000+, AMD Athlon 64 3200+ and AMD Athlon 64 3500+ chips that function at 1.80GHz, 2.00GHz and at 2.20GHz respectively, pack in 512KB of L2 cache and feature 1000MHz HyperTransport bus. Higher-end processors, such as AMD Athlon 64 3800+, 4000+, FX-53 and FX-55 are still produced using 130nm process technology.

AMD makes processors in its Fab 30 located in Dresden, Germany. 90nm fabrication process with Silicon-on-Insulator technology allows the company to shrink costs of manufacturing and continue to improve performance of its chips in future.