AMD 64 Powers 'Over the Hedge's Animation

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AMD has announced that HP servers and workstations powered by AMD64 processors contributed significantly to the digital magic behind DreamWorks Animation's comedy, "Over the Hedge". The use of AMD64 technology helped DreamWorks Animation enhance the artistry of "Over the Hedge", arming digital artists with the processing power necessary to create the film's breathtaking imagery. "Over the Hedge" is about RJ, a traveling raccoon who encourages a group of animals to venture over a large hedge in search of food. The adventure unfolds when the animals interact with humans living nearby.

DreamWorks Animation digital artists created much of the lighting and special effects for "Over the Hedge" using HP xw9300 workstations and HP DL145G2 ProLiant servers powered by Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors. These systems provided more than 30 percent additional computing power over DreamWorks Animation's previous generation of systems, helping artists work on multiple scenes simultaneously - similar to how PCs based on AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors help consumers improve multi-tasking capability. DreamWorks Animation production management staff also used HP Compaq nx6125 notebooks based on AMD Turion 64 mobile technology to help streamline a variety of production activities.

In the largest and most powerful render farm ever used for a DreamWorks Animation film, HP servers powered by Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors delivered more than 15 million combined render hours to turn digital information into full-fledged images of fur and foliage, not to mention water, fire, an explosion of artificial nacho cheese flavoring...and virtually everything else that can be seen on the screen.

As the Preferred Processor Provider for DreamWorks Animation, AMD provides AMD64 technology for desktop and notebook PCs, as well as servers, workstations and render farm nodes used by DreamWorks Animation's artists in their computer-generated filmmaking process.

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