I guess AMD has seen what you guys seen and seems to be taking some action.

[Fuzzie]

To:jjayxxxx </stocktalk/profile.gsp?id=8353268> who wrote (52792) </stocktalk/msg.gsp?msgid=16270851> From: 5dave22 </stocktalk/profile.gsp?id=8127495> Top of Form 1 Tuesday, Aug 28, 2001 4:53 PM View Replies (1) </stocktalk/msg_multireplies.gsp?msgid=16271154> | Respond </stocktalk/msg_reply.gsp?replytoid=16271154> to of 52957 Bottom of Form 1

Here is the full article, for those of you who don't subscribe to WSJ Online.
WSJ: AMD To Launch Worldwide Athlon Mktg Campaign In 4Q
By MOLLY WILLIAMS
Of THE THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
SAN JOSE -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said it plans to launch an aggressive marketing campaign in the fourth quarter to highlight its Athlon chip's superior performance over Intel Corp.'s (INTC) Pentium 4 chip.
The chip maker will expand and add to its existing programs with a worldwide campaign. AMD said it is looking to distance itself from market leader Intel, whose chips boast higher speed but not always better performance.
"Megahertz used to be a good indicator of performance," said Aaron Feen, a marketing manager at AMD. "That's not true anymore."
(This story and related background will be available on the Journal's Web site, WSJ.com.)
The new campaign, which will be targeted at stores and other places where users buy personal computers, will draw attention to the fact that the Athlon processor, in some benchmark tests, runs applications faster and completes tasks more quickly than comparable Intel products.
AMD, Sunnyvale, Calif., didn't say how much it would spend on the campaign.
Intel on Monday introduced a new 2-gigahertz Pentium 4 processor. AMD's fastest Athlon runs at 1.4 gigahertz.
-By Molly Williams; The Wall Street Journal; 415-505-9151

 

[ToBeMe]

Ah yes......the return of the infamous "PR" rating........... I can see how they (AMD) need to do something........but, IMHO, this will become a mistake and benifit Intel more than AMD in the longrun!

 

[majewski9]

Way to go AMD! Time to be aggressive! Realese faster chips and spend more on marketing.

Um.....I dont think the P rating is back, but I think that AMD can catch up in the speed race. Hammer debuts @ 2.2ghz in january and I think u'll be quite suprised with 1.5ghz palomino. I think 2.0ghz P4 doesnt stand a chance against the newest athlons out real soon.

 

[ToBeMe]

<< Um.....I dont think the P rating is back, but I think that AMD can catch up >>


Well......I think you better do some more research then.......

 

[Innoka]

I think this is going to be a hot topic so why don't we consolidate the biggest thread on it so far: [*]http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=547292
I think that by the thread title the forum bugs are back...

 

[ajskydiver]

I never liked that P rating scheme...

but for non-techies, how could AMD get their message across to the layman?

I don't think the average buyer cares about a few extra FPS (if they know what it is)...or whatever...

then again, more exposure should help greatly regardless.


~AJ

 

[shathal]

Wonder whether AMD (like CNET) will claim that they "let" themselves fall behind in the MHz ratings by choice ...

... ah - marketing - such a despicable "little" aspect of the IT industry ...

 

[NOS440]

Boy this is going to be fun to watch LMAO !!!!

 

[Pabster]

NOS440 wrote:

"Boy this is going to be fun to watch LMAO !!!!"

You're right. The mere thought of a 1.53GHz Palomino destroying a 2.0GHz P4 across the board is titillating Add some advertising and marketing, and the show is on the road!

 

[NOS440]

Pabster please........wake up from your wet dream LOL !

 

[AGodspeed]

I think a worldwide marketing campaign in Q4 instead of the PR rating (1.4 GHz Athlon is a Model 1600 crap) would be a much better idea.

If AMD's campaign can attract people to the benchmark aspects of processor performance instead of the MHz aspects of a processor's performance, they will be very successful.

If I had absolutely no knowledge of computers, and saw an ad on TV saying "Our 1.4 GHz AMD Athlon runs business and 3D applications faster than 1.4 GHz Pentium 4 processors 90% of the time..." I would say to myself "Whoa, that's pretty cool", and then go look it up for myself or wait for an Intel ad to counter the AMD ad.

It could work, but the ads will have to be very innovative and cathcy for AMD to be successful.

 

[Odoacer]

The 1.4 athlon already does beat the 2.0 P4 in some benches, so I'd say AMD is still doing pretty good despite a 600 mhz differential.

Buy I agree though, its gonna be tough marketing the athlon esp. with intel's (and the pentium's) brand recgonition. The high cost of Pentium's might be neglected when people see the sheer MHz difference between the athlon and the P4- "1.4 ghz vs the 2.0 ghz, of course the 2.0's gonna be a little more expensive" Also people have a tendency to think bigger numbers = better. AMD better have one Heck of a marketing campaign in mind.

 

[ProjectPat]

sweet!

 

[Innoka]

Knock-knock is there anybody there... AMD need no, and can pay no, advertising campaigns. Intel are squeezing their margins by using their greater fat reserves to outlast them in a price war.
AMD simply rename their chips. It costs them nothing et voila, gives the consumer a truer impression if they compare their chips to the P4. No expensive re-education for the public required. As if most of them would ever get it anyway.

 

[NOS440]

I'm sure that the public will notice the notice that will have be included to explain the p whatever listing or AMD and the OEM wll end up with a million law suits for false advertising a system at say 2 ghz that is really only 1.5 or whatever.

 

[urameatball]

NO NO NO!!!
please don't make AMD advertise... it means the cost of advertising will be transfered to the customers by having to purchase more expensive chips!

 

[Xenon14]

For the average consumer, I think the "PR" rating is more fair...back in '97 I was 15 and knew nothing about comps. If I knew that a k6 233 was worse than a Pentium 200, I would never have bought it. I had that computer until June of this year... this time I wisely bought a K7 1.33.

 

[NOS440]

I would agree please don't advertise but for another reason. If they advertise in the way most of you seem to think. I think they will be digging there own grave and that will drive my cost up on Intel CPu's and boards.

 

[Zebo]

<< Ah yes......the return of the infamous "PR" rating........... I can see how they (AMD) need to do something........but, IMHO, this will become a mistake and benifit Intel more than AMD in the longrun! >>




100% correct. Free advertising for Intel because it turns it into a pentium equivalent rating and AMD is basically admitting P4 is top dogg

 

[damocles]

If AMD adopts a PR rating they had better be very careful- it gives Intel a clear target and says if you can beat this you are indeed top dog. There is potential for the PR rating to work but I believe it is more likely to backfire

In terms of processors AMD are every bit as competitive as Intel but in terms of consumer marketing they have never been very strong.

 

[Wingznut]

I wonder how most of the AMD fans would feel if Intel adopted a rating system like that. Used a select few benchmarks (Q3, video encoding, etc...) and called their P4-2.0ghz a P4-2300. After all, it would take an Athlon ~2300mhz to match the P4-2ghz in said benchmarks.

Sounds fair, right?

 

[anthrax]

PR ratings seem to suggest that AMD dosn't have too much up its sleave in terms of the Athlon...Athlon core needs a overhaul fast if AMD wants to stay in the perfomance game. A "hyper pipeline" type chip from AMD would be the go in the long term......

AMD is really screwed if Intel can deliver a cheap platfrom for the P4, perfomance doesn't matter....the GHZ does...at least the the standard consumer anyway.

 

[jaggrey]

The one thing that worries me is that they say the Pentium 4 will perform better as clock speeds increase (meaning it won't be as easy for the Athlon to keep up once the P4 starts using all of it's architectual advancements to its full potential). Then what's gonna happen?

 

[anthrax]

"then what going to happen" ..
back to the world of $800 dollar CPU's

 

[AGodspeed]

I wonder how most of the AMD fans would feel if Intel adopted a rating system like that. Used a select few benchmarks (Q3, video encoding, etc...) and called their P4-2.0ghz a P4-2300. After all, it would take an Athlon ~2300mhz to match the P4-2ghz in said benchmarks.

Sounds fair, right?

That wouldn't work at all. AMD is making this rating because in the majority of benchmarks that, for example, anandtech or tomshardware run, an Athlon 1400 beats a P4 1600 (more like a 1700 or 1800).

So why would Intel adopt this sort of rating if it only refers to the P4 winning 3 or 4 benchmarks out of 11 or 12. It's not about which benchmarks the P4 or Athlon wins, it's about which one wins more. The Athlon simply wins more benchmarks, and at 200, 300, and even 400 or 500 MHz less clock speed.