AMD cuts to the core with 'Bulldozer' Opterons

[Nedjo]

Yes, they are currently the primary customer, but that could possibly change once Abu Dhabi controls 100% of GF.

why would that change if AMD keeps GloFo's capacities full?

[Manicdan]

why would that change if AMD keeps GloFo's capacities full?

because GF is a business, and can offer more of their capacity to highest bidders maybe?

[haylui]

because GF is a business, and can offer more of their capacity to highest bidders maybe?

I don't think ARM would pay more for one chip than AMD does

[informal]

I don't think ARM would pay more for one chip than AMD does

Exactly.AMD designs and produces one of the most complex MPUs out there and the cost is proportionally high. Not to mention that the netbook business in on the rise and AMD's Bobcat is going to be a big hit with OEMs(you can quote me on this).NOt only that,but with the clear modular approach introduced with BD cores,AMD will be able to address all the segments in the near future which guarantees GloFo will keep churning out their wafers to their most valuable customer. Last but not the least,ATi division is moving out to GloFo's SOI(Llano) and bulk(Northern Islands) silicon with 28nm node and this will additionally strengthen AMD's place in customer priority list of GloFo!

[qurious63ss]

I don't think ARM would pay more for one chip than AMD does

And here is another problem. How much is Amd going to have to pay for what GF is calling "custom" manufacturing?

http://globalfoundries.com/technolog...nced_tech.aspx

As you see from the link, it looks like they are going to be doing a lot of processes at the same time.

[haylui]

And here is another problem. How much is Amd going to have to pay for what GF is calling "custom" manufacturing?

http://globalfoundries.com/technolog...nced_tech.aspx

As you see from the link, it looks like they are going to be doing a lot of processes at the same time.

so long GloFo could lead in technology term for contract manufacturing, they won't be mind to do so;
Don't forget they would like to have 50% of the market share in near future.
With advanced manufacturing technology, ARM and other power concern chips would be build out of the latest wafer tech rather than cheapo old tech that consume a lot of power.
More over, AMD didn't wish to withdraw from GloFo completely, but when ATIC injecting more cash into GloFo, AMD just shrink their share percentage only. Nothing to lose.

[qurious63ss]

why would that change if AMD keeps GloFo's capacities full?

With Amd no longer having a say in GF decisions then there is the possibility that GF could change their focus away from Amd no matter how much Amd keeps GF full, GF will still make decisions based on whats best for GF. Some of their interest will be the same like full capacity but others like shrink cycles and the cost that comes with it might not be so. Again, not saying that this will happen but loosing control of manufacturing has its negatives and this is one of them.

[Helmore]

With Amd no longer having a say in GF decisions then there is the possibility that GF could change their focus away from Amd no matter how much Amd keeps GF full, GF will still make decisions based on whats best for GF. Some of their interest will be the same like full capacity but others like shrink cycles and the cost that comes with it might not be so. Again, not saying that this will happen but loosing control of manufacturing has its negatives and this is one of them.

I agree with you and not with just this post here.
But you have to consider that chances of that happening are reasonably slim in this case. It would be suicide for GF to slack off on process technology innovations at this point. Just consider the situation they're in. They do have a reasonable customer base, although that's only through their merger with Chartered Semiconductors, but they have no proven track record in the fab industry. This currently gives them only one option and that's to prove to their clients that they have the superior process. They need a better process than their competitors and they have to be faster than their competitors in getting large volumes and good yields on this cutting edge process. That's what they currently need to prove themselves in the fab industry.

Then later on they can choose to do what you're saying, namely to slow down on introducing smaller process nodes, but even then it will still be better for them to keep on innovating. That's because margins are much higher in the more recent process nodes than in the older nodes, mainly because there is less competition in the newer nodes as fewer fabs will have mastered it. You might even be the only one for a little while with a newer node.

Then there is one market where there will probably be quite some growth in the coming years and thats in smartphones. This will mean even more chips on the newer process nodes. Just look at Tegra 2 and future Qualcomm SnapDragon chip, all on TSMC's 40 nm node. There will be many many more of these chips in the future and they will all want to use the latest process technologies as that gives them a speed and power consumption advantage. That's another market that's very important for GF and TSMC, one in which they will have to prove which is faster in ramping up new nodes and which has the better performing process.