Quote Originally Posted by haylui View Post
I think both Intel and AMD are already adapting automated design software to speed up the design. But maybe it is just that the engineers will do manual tweaking/routing/fine tuning in critical parts.
If engineers already realized that the automation tools will bring 20% larger die space and 20% less efficient, surely they would do something about it. Unless there is no one left in the team could do manual tweaking at all.
I still doubt the rumor. In my opinion, he mixed up things with Ontario. That chip is indeed the result of automated tools. You can clearly see it by the strange floorplan, it is totally irregular. However, to the contrary, Bulldozer's floorplan is very modular / rectangular, even inside the cores. That's normally the result of handcrafted design. Just compare it with Ontario and the difference is imminent.

Furthermore, Ontario is a success and has a very small die-size and a competitive power consumption. Actually I would even say that it is currently AMD's best chip. Small, cheap to produce and it should sell very well, the typical cash cow.