AMD today announced its collaboration with Microsoft Corp. for more than 125 Windows 8-based PC designs from leading OEMs including ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and more. With a hardware accelerated user interface, Microsoft and AMD have collaborated to design Windows 8 to unlock the high performance graphics capabilities found in AMD accelerated processing units (APUs) and discrete AMD Radeon graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver the best HD video, gaming and app experience consumers want with the always on, always connected, touch-driven interface with great battery life they need.

"There is a lot of exciting innovation happening in the marketplace today -- from the new Windows 8 graphics-accelerated user interface and apps, to ultraportable and sleek hardware designs -- and AMD's CPU, GPU and APU technology designed for Windows 8 helps enable a no-compromise solution," said Stefan Kinnestrand, director of Product Management, Windows Division at Microsoft.

Mainstream and ultrathin notebooks, tablets, all-in-one and traditional desktops, home theater PCs and embedded designs powered by the second generation AMD A-Series APUs and AMD Z-Series APUs with AMD Radeon HD graphics enable a phenomenal mobility, entertainment and gaming experience for Windows 8-based PCs.

"Windows 8 marks a new era in the PC industry; an age of acceleration powered by AMD that will enable a visually superior experience whether on a tablet, notebook or all-in-one," said Dr. Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager, Global Business Units, AMD. "We are excited to be working with Microsoft and our OEM partners to drive innovative user experiences across a variety of new form factors."

The latest AMD APU and GPU platforms come loaded with features optimized to enhance the Windows 8 experience, including:

• AMD Start Now Technology: AMD-powered Windows 8-based notebooks boot, resume and respond faster than competing x86 solutions1;
• AMD Catalyst drivers compatible with Windows 8 featuring support for DirectX 11, DirectX 11.1 and Windows Display Driver Model 1.2;
• AMD AllDay Power enables consumers everywhere to experience unmatched mobility with more than 12 hours of resting battery life on their AMD-based device2;
• AMD Eyefinity Technology: a feature unique to AMD-powered PCs, consumers can now span their Windows 8 desktop, user interface, games and apps seamlessly across three or more monitors for a truly immersive experience3;
• AMD App Acceleration: AMD Radeon GPUs with AMD App Acceleration let you run multiple applications at the same time with remarkable speed and reliability that provide enhanced performance beyond traditional graphics and video processing. Customers running AMD-powered Windows 8 PCs can run desktop apps as well as new apps available from the Windows Store and from AMD AppZone for a fast and fluid experience.

1 Testing conducted in AMD Labs. The 2012 AMD A10-4655M APU-based ultrathin notebook completed total boot excluding BIOS in 10.2 seconds; resume from hibernate excluding BIOS in 4.8 seconds; shutdown in 4.5 seconds; standby suspend in 1.7 seconds; and standby resume excluding BIOS in 2.2 seconds. The competitive notebook completed total boot excluding BIOS in 11.8 seconds; resume from hibernate excluding BIOS in 7.6 seconds; shutdown in 4.8 seconds, standby suspend in 2.0 seconds and standby resume excluding BIOS in 2.2 seconds. Shorter duration is better. Times rounded to the nearest tenth of a second. The 2012 premium ultrathin notebook consisted of an AMD A10-4655M APU with AMD Radeon HD 7620G graphics, 4GB (2x2GB) GDDR3 memory, SSD drive and Microsoft Windows 8 (x64) Build 9200. The 2012 competitive system consisted of an Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core i5-3317U CPU with Intel GT2 integrated graphics, SSD drive and Microsoft Windows 8 (x64) Build 9200.TRN-182
2 Testing by AMD Performance Labs. Battery life calculations based on average power on multiple benchmarks and usage scenarios. Twelve hours of battery life based on Windows Idle (740 min./12:20 hours) as a resting metric. All battery life calculations are based on using a 6-cell Li-Ion 62.16Whr battery pack at 98 percent utilization for Windows Idle, PowerMark by Futuremark and 96 percent utilization for 3DMark06 by Futuremark workload, video playback and YouTube video streaming; and 92 percent utilization for Blu-ray playback. AMD defines "all-day" battery life as 8+ hours of continuous use as measured on the Windows Idle test. TRN-3 and TRN-4
3 AMD Eyefinity technology works with games that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for spanning across multiple displays. To enable more than two displays, additional panels with native DisplayPort connectors, and/or DisplayPort compliant active adapters to convert your monitor's native input to your cards DisplayPort or Mini-DisplayPort connector(s), are required. AMD Eyefinity technology can support up to 6 displays using a single enabled AMD Radeon GPU with Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating systems -- the number of displays may vary by system design, and you should confirm exact specifications with the applicable manufacturer before purchase. SLS ("Single Large Surface") functionality requires an identical display resolution on all configured displays.