Originally Posted by
OneEng
First, I think that AMD has executed exceptionally well lately. They have had periods of time in the past where they have performed exceptional, and times when they have fallen flat on their face.
As far as process goes, AMD has a mixed bag. Their move to copper interconnects was arguably the first time in the history of semiconductors when ANY company has ever held a process advantage over Intel. As a result the not only captured the frequency crown (and were the first commercial processor to exceed 1Ghz), they held the performance crown as well.
Since then, Intel has held the undisputed lead in process technology and shrinks. Flat out impressive.
As far as architecture goes, IMHO, AMD has simply owned Intel. Intel has been following AMD for about a decade now. I am looking to see a SB successor that imitates BD in the future.
My conclusion is this. AMD usually makes very good design decisions. They usually execute the design well (with the notable exception of the TLB bug); however, AMD spends its life in the shadow of Intel's process lead ..... as they have done with 32nm. It is remarkably difficult to compete from a full process node behind ..... and yet AMD is still in the running.
It is not difficult for me to believe that AMD may flounder on 32nm HKMG. Many thought that K10 was a failure; however, IMHO it was simply a process failure. At 2.2Ghz, K10 was no match for Core 2. Today 45nm to 45nm, PhenomII is more than a match for Core 2. Imagine if AMD had released Phenom at 3.0Ghz and greater.
The BD design details that I have been able to see or speculate show a very competent and potent design. If it can be released in 2011 (H1 would be better than H2), I suspect it will be a strong competitor to SB.
If AMD again falters on their process transition, things won't look pretty for them with respect to BD.
For those that believe that Intel is not fallible, remember i740? How about Larrabee? Itanic anyone? P4?
I am hoping that AMD executes well. The last system I purchased was a Core 2 which I thought I could update inexpensively to a quad in the future. Time has passed and passed. Had I went with AMD, I could have a quad core on the cheep that would kick butt in my video encoding tasks. (AMD 3.4Ghz ~$170. Intel equivalent at this price = Core 2 quad @2.66Ghz).
For those that prefer Intel, you should be rooting for BD too. Wouldn't you like to have a Core i7 at 3.2Ghz for under $150.00?