AMD today officially announced broad software developer support for its upcoming four-core, multi-socket enthusiast platform, codenamed 4x4, which will allow enthusiasts to pair up two dual-core Socket AM2 Athlon 64 FX processors on a single motherboard. Coupled with NVIDIA's Quad SLI, users will be able to enjoy four CPU cores and four GPU cores in one very expensive machine:

Multi-threaded games are among the first applications to see immediate advantages from using multi-socket, multi-threaded architectures like the upcoming 4x4 enthusiast platform and make exceptional demonstrations for new PC technologies.

"With Crysis, our flagship title, we are pushing the boundaries of game-physics, intelligent combat AI and cinematic visuals," said Cevat Yerli, President and CEO, Crytek. "Crysis will be an experience culminated in next-generation hardware when utilized with a multi-core system like AMD's highly anticipated 4x4 enthusiast platform."

With an abundance of multi-core applications and games under development, developers are seeking technology that helps craft their visions, unbound by the limits of legacy hardware capabilities. The planned AMD enthusiast architecture would help developers bring the limits of imagination to reality: massive symmetric multi-processing, extreme multi-tasking, AI, jaw-dropping game play, enhanced physics, immersive 3D and cinematic visuals.