AMD to leave microprocessor market?

[CTho9305]

article and slashdot discussion
hope its not a repost.

the article isn't all that clear IMHO.

 

[Electrode]

Thread in General Hardware

 

[Mrburns2007]

According to Intel the P4 won't scale as high in 2003, they say it will hit 3.6 Ghz by the end of the year. If the Athlon 64 can make it out in Q1 then it should have a good year but if it doesn't show up til Q3 then AMD won't fair so well.

I'm betting we won't see the Athlon 64 til X-mas next year which will be to late because the Prescott will be arriving and should have pretty good improvements over Northwood.

It will be hard to market a 2 Ghz Athlon 64 vs 4Ghz Pentium 4.......

 

[amdskip]

not leaving, just diversifying

 

[ndee]

Problem is that people still think that Hertz = Speed.

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: ndee
Problem is that people still think that Hertz = Speed.

And the other problem is brand loyalty, Intel has been established as the leader for so long...

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: ndee
Problem is that people still think that Hertz = Speed.

I think the problem is stupid people.

 

[charrison]

It is good to see someone realized that current cpus are really fast enough for damn near everything. This could very cause a stagnation in speed of cpus, but it will most likely also mean lower prices since manufatoring equipment and training can be used longer.

 

[hungrypete]

Originally posted by: charrison
It is good to see someone realized that current cpus are really fast enough for damn near everything. This could very cause a stagnation in speed of cpus, but it will most likely also mean lower prices since manufatoring equipment and training can be used longer.

If AMD goes under, one thing we will NOT see is lower prices

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: hungrypete

Originally posted by: charrison
It is good to see someone realized that current cpus are really fast enough for damn near everything. This could very cause a stagnation in speed of cpus, but it will most likely also mean lower prices since manufatoring equipment and training can be used longer.

If AMD goes under, one thing we will NOT see is lower prices

AMD is diversifying, not quitting.

Imagine getting a ghz cpu and quality motherboard for $50. The computer industry pays a heavy price for retooling every 2 years to support the latest and greatest. Currently the lastest is not much better.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: CTho9305
article and slashdot discussion
hope its not a repost.

the article isn't all that clear IMHO.

Not sure why you included the Slashdot link, but AMD *is not* leaving the microprocessor market. They are merely planning on entering other markets with other(microprocessor related I assume) products.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: hungrypete

Originally posted by: charrison
It is good to see someone realized that current cpus are really fast enough for damn near everything. This could very cause a stagnation in speed of cpus, but it will most likely also mean lower prices since manufatoring equipment and training can be used longer.

If AMD goes under, one thing we will NOT see is lower prices

AMD is diversifying, not quitting.

Imagine getting a ghz cpu and quality motherboard for $50. The computer industry pays a heavy price for retooling every 2 years to support the latest and greatest. Currently the lastest is not much better.

I think horizontal expansion is better than the current mHz wars, at least for the short term. Quality motherboard and four gHz cpus for $150.

 

[manly]

AMD isn't leaving CPUs. They simply need to find profit streams of ANY kind.

With the PC market shrinking for the second consecutive calendar year, Intel has essentially pushed AMD nearly to the brink of relevance. AMD's CPU market share went from around 20% to roughly half that in just a year in a price war that they clearly lost. Intel can afford taking a hit on gross margins, while AMD simply cannot.

I think AMD had high hopes that their Athlon MP would give them a promising new life in the more lucrative (low-end) server market but I don't think any big OEMs have signed on yet. Based on that, it's hard to see that their x86-64 CPUs will immediately reap near-term rewards in higher-margin segments.

This isn't so much about CPUs being "fast enough" as some have commented. Yes, the PC market is still very soft, but the problem is that AMD lost a pricing war with Intel, losing half their market share in just one year. If AMD can't even compete on value where they clearly are superior to Intel, then their current CPU business model is basically doomed. I don't think they lost market share due to the GHz wars, but due to lack of industry support from the biggest players, particularly in corporate accounts. For example, Dell's Intel-only success alone has been a continued thorn in AMD's side.

 

[wfbberzerker]

where the hell is clawhammer