"If someone came up with a 64-bit desktop application, then AMD would have an advantage, " Brookwood said.

CNN: AMD takes a different path with Sledgehammer chip

Intel, which has dedicated 64-bit silicon in Itanium, de-emphasizes the processor's 32-bit performance, according to Nathan Brookwood, and analyst with Insight 64.

CNN: AMD takes a different path with Sledgehammer chip

But until the performance benchmarking of actual, real-world AMD and Intel hardware begins, which design wins out is still anyone's call, Brookwood said.

CNN: AMD takes a different path with Sledgehammer chip

"The whole processor business is more wide open today than at any point in the last 20 years, " says independent microprocessor analyst Nathan Brookwood.

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With Sledgehammer, AMD may even be way ahead of the rest of the industry when it comes to 64-bit computing on desktop PCs, Brookwood said.

CNN: AMD takes a different path with Sledgehammer chip

Apple, however, is not at a point where it could make a decision on whether to get rid of Intel processors, explains Insight 64 Research Fellow Nathan Brookwood.

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"That, of course, is the 64-bit question, " Brookwood said.

CNN: AMD takes a different path with Sledgehammer chip