Quoting Randall Shimizu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
One has to remember that the only reason that Intel has a slight advantage is because most apps are 32 bit, With the exception of Intel's Itanium all it's other processors are 32 bit cores with 64 extensions. So all the benchmarks you see are for 32 bit processors.
This is also wrong. The benchmark edge that Intel has right now is NOT due to 32bit applications. They are edging out a lot in 64bit benchmarks as well.
You are correct in that the entire x86_64 architecture is based on the x86 one, but it's more then just extensions added on. AMD took the same tact that Intel had previously taken when expanding the original x86 line from 16 to 32bit, building on top of the existing architecture.
The platform does have the advantage that 32bit apps do still run natively (vs emulation on ia64, which sucks royally) and will work completely as a 32bit cpu if you install a 32bit OS.
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