Is AMD Really a Sinking Ship?

[akaBruno]

It's becoming obvious that AMD will put out something close to c2d. It may not win many benchies but, AMD people will find it much smoother. Check out the poll at Anand.

The race won't end on Nov. 19th.

It's only just begun.

All you intel fanboys... take note.

BRUNO

[mad_skills]

just use common sense..
they'll put something good out in order to make profit
over and out

[nonworkingrich]

And if not ... Google will buy AMD.

[akaBruno]

And if not ... Google will buy AMD.

[stealth]

Do you really believe that AMD is a sinking ship?

There are a lot of people out there that they don't have the money to buy a high end system and they just wait for the second generation systems to get cheep enough.If you have a look at Asus forums you will see that a lot of people buy now 939 systems.

If you have a low price CPU that is worth the money people will buy it.

And if AMD is in the wrong path why Intel is going to change the architecture and follow AMD's steps?
If i was an Intel user i was going to worry that in a year time i have to throw away my high end system which cost me a few thousands dollars and buy something totally different.

"Nehalem will be Intelʼs first processor with scalable and configurable system interconnects and integrated memory controllers."

Why i think that i heard the word AMD more than one time in the above sentence,and why i think that i could just put Nehalem on an AM2+ mobo and make it run?

AMD has a five years experience on that technology,Intel?

AMD is a sinking ship?Ok i believe you.

stealth

[nemrod]

just before the athlons hit the market, AMD was 10 BILLION dollar deficitary.

Are you sure?

[cadaveca]

AMD long ago, before the aquisition of ATI, said they were focusing on the server market.

Lately there has been a lack of retail products, and many reports of a supply constraint from AMD.

Um, wait a second....AMD has issues meeting demand? And that's bad?

AMD is selling stuff like hotcakes, but not to retail sources. This merely confirms that they have done exactly as they said they would...focused on the server market.

Not long ago we heard that they had a sale of 25,000 K10 cpu's in one contract.


So, because thier supply was tapped, intel took a bold move, and lowered prices, trying to pick up the demand that AMD could not meet...becuase if they had kept thier old prices...noone was interested, as AMD had a better deal. Sure, it meant purchaser's had to wait a bit, but so what?


Some peopel seem to forget that it was back in May that AMD "announced" the Phenom. This annoucement meant that large purchaser's, such as that contract for 25K cpu's, could start lining up. They have been since then.

Now, we hear, many months later(almost 2 quarters) that AMD's retail launch of the Phnom will not have the clockspeeds as predicted, and immmediately people start screaming "BAD YIELDS!!!!", completely forgetting that AMD has been taking orders for Phenom for many months...orders that may just have been for those higher bins that everyone is waiting for.

I od not see this current AMD situation as bad. I do not see yield issues either. I see AMD meeting the server market demand, for top-quality wafer products. I see the left overs from each slice of wafer being stockpiled, awaiting a proper worldwide release...leftovers that do not meet thier predictions, as the high-quality slices are already sold to the top 90% of the market...which is not retail.


AMD forsaw thier supply issues, and decided that they'd go with the server market, as this market has a far different purchasing scheme than retail...and comes with some guarantees that retail cannot offer. 10% of the market, even 15%, is miniscule compared to 90% or 85%, which is where AMD is focused.

Yes, AMD is in a bit of a rough spot financially, but also notice that when they offered tenders for extra cash, they were gone within 24hrs. This only bolster's AMD position, and truly shows that AMD had proven themselves to these people...the people that are willing to spend 100's of 1000's of dollars...not the retail market where people may buy a few cpus...


AMD had my vote of confidence...and it still does....but i guess I'm a bit more business minded than some other people, and understand what moves they have made.

[Sparky]

Then once all the server market is satisfied, we get the goods right? Please?

[nemrod]

Not long ago we heard that they had a sale of 25,000 K10 cpu's in one contract.

Some peopel seem to forget that it was back in May that AMD "announced" the Phenom. This annoucement meant that large purchaser's, such as that contract for 25K cpu's, could start lining up. They have been since then.

Do you know that about 230 million systems was sold in 2006... And you think that 25000 cpu provoke a shortage?

(and the system was already sold 1 year before )

[adamsleath]

amd have been a sinking ship since they started (ok theyve had their triumphs)
but they still around selling stuff so
intel got pooey when amd started to make marketshare inroads and retaliated with c2d etc.

[cadaveca]

Do you know that about 230 million systems was sold in 2006... And you think that 25000 cpu provoke a shortage?

(and the system was already sold 1 year before )

NO, it does not create a shortage, however, the actual dollar value of that single small contract...at even just $100 per cpu equals $2.5 million...a sale that almost no single retailer can match in a single purchase.

[knightwolf654]

even if AMD were to fall , i have a feeling IBM would get them back on there feet.
this is a good article and explains alot of whats going on.
i know it was said but the hole AMD ftl thing is uncalled for period. if intel chips are so much to make they wont have that many price drops then. hopefully there are bugs with phenom, if there are its a good thing which means when there fixed, benchmarks will improve. i hope shanghai or sandtiger get AMD back on top.

[haylui]

If C2D is a success then since K6-2 AMD scores successes until now. Recalling the first pc I helped my friend to build is K6-2 400MHz. I choose it because it's much cheaper than Pentium II 350MHz, although it was slower on benchmarks but it doesn't mean the chip is bad. AMD always been my choice since K6-2 day. With the launch of Phenom X4, it will put AMD into a more competitive position that Athlon64 X2 days. The aggressive moves from Intel certainly created a big impact on AMD for past 2 years. But I believe that AMD is now in the transition period consuming ATI so that in future there are sufficient chipset and 3D accelerator to be bundled with for OEMs and retail market.


AMD always compete with Intel with older process technology and yet able to deliver same level of performance. I really has got problem with those people just keep looking on benchmark result and overclocking ability than really looking into the technology behind before they comment on AMD. Try imagine a 2.0L L4 engine is on par with 2.5L V6 engine, which one product greater hp/L?

Lets hope that Phenom X4 will help AMD continue to progress. And a new board in AMD, Dirk Meyer could bring AMD out of loses.