AMD's chances as a mainstream CPU manufacturer

[BeauCharles]

Continue with current product line up adding ARM.

 

[cytg111]

Intel will keep AMD alive to avoid (more of) the wrath of anti competition authorities..

- Wouldnt surprise me if this was part of Intels game plan.
And the APU's going into consoles that will last another 7 years? APU's could become the next standard issue circuit for your average gaming experience.
But then again, if AMD actually found a nice corner to begin building a nice business again, the Giant is wide awake this time and ready to lay the smack down across the board. I dont see much hope for AMD to regain anything close to a performance lead in the next decade. Some weird shit would have to happen. (like an UFO crashing into AMD HQ or Dr.Who comes the the rescue).

 

[Olikan]

voted: It'll survive indefinitely as the underdog.

well....amd is there for over 50 years, and will probaly stay there for over 50 years

 

[vampirr]

AMD will become a good competitor, but a dominant one in near future? I doubt it.

AMD has couple of ace's in their sleeves, they got HSA and many companies are interested in HSA design eg. Sony, Qualcomm, ARM, etc... Since Jim Keller is again working for AMD, he is a really experienced computer architect(x86, ARM, Alpha, Power PC, etc...) so he can really give some boost in progress and improvements of AMD's product's. Also since Steve Jobs is gone and new CEO of Apple is more open, Jim Keller has some influence there and could persuade Apple's CEO to use APU's or HSA in the future since its a superior product for performance in one package... Apple has alot of greenies >

Console's will last for 6-7 years and so AMD will have a steady revenue, Wii U uses AMD's GPU while PlayStation 4 uses APU and Xbox 720 could use also an APU or atleast an GPU from AMD. SteamBox that runs Linux based OS since AMD's processors perform well even thought they don't have an officially support for most programs, bulldozer architecture has a great potential involving Linux compared to Intel's C2D based architecture...

 

[Ajay]

The way GloFo has them over a barrel for 11 more years with the exclusivity contract combined with the take or pay contract...yeah, its difficult to see them undoing that without seeking Ch11 protection to reorganize.

This.

I don't see a court supervised reorganization causing them to lose the license.

And this.

Unless the world economy fires up the booster rockets in the next six months. A rising tide lifts all boat (unless the are sunk or in dry dock ).

 

[Homeles]

AMD will become a good competitor, but a dominant one in near future? I doubt it.

AMD has couple of ace's in their sleeves, they got HSA and many companies are interested in HSA design eg. Sony, Qualcomm, ARM, etc... Since Jim Keller is again working for AMD, he is a really experienced computer architect(x86, ARM, Alpha, Power PC, etc...) so he can really give some boost in progress and improvements of AMD's product's. Also since Steve Jobs is gone and new CEO of Apple is more open, Jim Keller has some influence there and could persuade Apple's CEO to use APU's or HSA in the future since its a superior product for performance in one package... Apple has alot of greenies >

Console's will last for 6-7 years and so AMD will have a steady revenue, Wii U uses AMD's GPU while PlayStation 4 uses APU and Xbox 720 could use also an APU or atleast an GPU from AMD. SteamBox that runs Linux based OS since AMD's processors perform well even thought they don't have an officially support for most programs, bulldozer architecture has a great potential involving Linux compared to Intel's C2D based architecture...

Everyone has taken a massive, steaming crap on your dreams that Jim Keller will become your personal savior. Get a grip already.

 

[vampirr]

Homeles... Jim Keller worked on ARM processors for Apple, he was a lead designer... So we can expect a bit better products from AMD and a new socket soon.

 

[Homeles]

We all know what he's done. He's not Jesus. Get over it.

 

[Ancalagon44]

They can have the best designer in the world, it wont help them if they are still on 28nm when Intel is on 14nm or whatever the next node.

GloFo's process engineering, or lack thereof, could be the final nail in the coffin, after the massive stake that was BullDozer.

 

[Ajay]

Oh nooos, not this again

 

[BurnItDwn]

AMD APUs current and next gen have significantly better GPUs than Intel. Intel has made massive strides with the HD3000 and then HD4000 integrated GPUs, but, they are still very very wimpy. The CPU side of things shows us the inverse. They are not going to compete in the high end. Their current CPU's are not the best when it comes to performance per watt, so they are going to lose market share in the server world.

Their console deals will keep them afloat.

Their movement towards mobile/ARM will give them some diversity and risk mitigation.

I think as a corporation, they will recover. I think they will continue to have some success with their APUs and GPUs. I think their dedicated CPUs with no GPU will fade from the market, they simply can not compete with Intel on that front, and Intel isn't going to stop R&D to let them catch up.

I suspect it will be a rough road for the next 5+ years, but, they will slowly climb out of debt thanks to decently large contracts (even if the margins on their products are low).

 

[georgec84]

They'll compete again. AMD just needs more cash from sales to put into R&D.

 

[bgt]

They will survive. If I see how fine the AMD CPU's+GPU's work comparing it to the Intel CPU's and Nvidia GPU's, they can only improve. They just must not mess up with the new CPU's, Steamroller and Kavari. Also their HSA program should be well applied.

 

[Ajay]

I picked "It'll survive, but not as a conventional CPU manufacturer" because I don't know what they'll look like after Ch 11. If, _somehow_ they prosper*, then all bets are off.



* Even dumb companies get lucky once in a while.

 

[ehume]

AMD has couple of ace's in their sleeves, they got HSA and many companies are interested in HSA design eg.

Other companies are interested in AMD's Health Savings Account?

Well, that's what I got when I Googled it. What's it mean?

 

[Sleepingforest]

The key is to Google "AMD HSA" rather than just HSA. It's what AMD is calling their efforts to unify the CPU and GPU; effectively, it's what you are seeing in Llano/Trinity/Kaveri.

 

[ehume]

OK. "Heterogeneous Systems Architecture."

 

[Torn Mind]

The key is to Google "AMD HSA" rather than just HSA. It's what AMD is calling their efforts to unify the CPU and GPU; effectively, it's what you are seeing in Llano/Trinity/Kaveri.

HSA ultimately leaves it up to developers to decide whether to jump onboard or not.

HSA might have a chance with mobile developers, as there is a tight power constraint and yet a strong need for more computing power. But AMD has yet to establish market presence there yet.

I don't see it impacting the desktop though, as the corporate sector outside of the semiconductor industry doesn't give a crap and just wants "fast", "cheap as feasibly possible", and "well supported for the life of the computer" in their computer purchases. They want speed for every app they run, including legacy apps they are not ready to migrate from yet.

Even if it does win the desktop, there are supply issues. They can only make so many APUs.

 

[Arachnotronic]

HSA ultimately leaves it up to developers to decide whether to jump onboard or not.

HSA might have a chance with mobile developers, as there is a tight power constraint and yet a strong need for more computing power. But AMD has yet to establish market presence there yet.

I don't see it impacting the desktop though, as the corporate sector outside of the semiconductor industry doesn't give a crap and just wants "fast", "cheap as feasibly possible", and "well supported for the life of the computer" in their computer purchases. They want speed for every app they run, including legacy apps they are not ready to migrate from yet.

Even if it does win the desktop, there are supply issues. They can only make so many APUs.

In a world of "good enough", nobody will give a rat's ass about GPU accelerated compute

 

[Torn Mind]

In a world of "good enough", nobody will give a rat's ass about GPU accelerated compute

Not every app has reached good enough land though. Some professionals still require those big, bad Xeons. And may for those running a million virtual machines. If AMD could stuff 7970 power into an APU and then have an HSA-compatible app run on it...

 

[Dark Shroud]

Not every app has reached good enough land though. Some professionals still require those big, bad Xeons. And may for those running a million virtual machines. If AMD could stuff 7970 power into an APU and then have an HSA-compatible app run on it...

Well even more AMD has shown they can make Jaguar clusters APUs. The PS4's IGP is a little beefier than a HD 7850.

Make the IGP stronger like you said and this could be a very interesting server/work station chip between HSA & OpenCL.