there IS Hope for AMD ...Ruiz acknowledges a lot of things

[apoppin]

he didn't take the bait

 

[apoppin]

well, AMD is taking some of my suggestions

get rid off the *fluff* in marketing

http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39519

AMD is cutting 2.6% of its workforce in a bid to save money, it said yesterday.

That's 430 peeps, most of whom will be coming from Sales and Marketing, according to bods in the know. According to reports, 50 ex-ATI chaps will get the heave-ho in Canada, 80 AMD bods will go from Austin, 40 from Satan Clara and the rest worldwide, probably where there is still an overlap of ATI and AMD employees.

The cuts come as DAAMIT last month promised only to hire 'mission critical' new employees. Despite an injection of $2bn dollars from convertible notes sold on ludicrous terms, it seems that there's still plenty of belt-tightening to be done at the firm.

amd has a short time to get it's act together ... they have 2 billion dollars "cash" to "tie them over"

the rest of the news isn't so good
http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39527

THE LATEST AMD 10-Q form has some interesting bits in it and these are not pretty. In fact, they are quite ugly as far as CPUs are concerned.

The gory details are basically a loss in CPUs and GPUs and bland flatness in consumer electronics. Some of the numbers are quite astounding: A 38 per cent drop in CPU revenue on 37 per cent lower unit volume and 10 per cent lower lower ASPs. Ouch. Talk about falling off a cliff.

Go here, put in AMD for the ticker symbol and hunt down the latest 10-Q report. Scroll down to P26, and look at the numbers.

We suspect that a lot of the volume has to do with stuffing the channel in Q4 and having to sit and twiddle thumbs while that worked down.

In general, it makes a good read, if somewhat dry. It will be interesting to see what happens in Q2, if the cliff dive hits bottom, and the shipping of R6xx products show an uptick in ATI based revenue. Stay tuned, we will know in 90 days

it *hangs* on Barcelona ... not r600 ... although r600 will have some 'impact'

anyway, an "editorial" from a 'new guy' at theinq

http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39526

Monday, a single major SKU will be tipping up - the Radeon HD 2900 XT. Those journos nominally bound by EhnDeeEhs have been playing with the card for a few weeks now, and the results don't look good.

The card goes tit for tat with the GeForce 8800 GTS, winning some and losing some in a vaguely equal proportion, whilst coming in at the same price point. DAAMIT is hoping the DRM infection of HDCP and HDMI will be a selling point, but don't count on it.

Meanwhile, the XTX languishes in no-man's land, available only to system builders stupid enough to pay for a 1GB DDR4 card with barely better performance. With 8800s in ready supply, and with performance besting the 1GB beast, any SI going with the high-end Radeon will be purely in it for novelty and/or fanboy value.

Of course, any fule no that the big money in graphics is made in mid-range, the mainstream. The delay of the Radeon series was, at the last check, designed to enable a top to bottom launch of the series. Forgeddaboutit. We're hearing from multiple sauces that the 2400 and 2600 are both delayed until the beginning of July, as the metal goes back for another respin. The silicon just ain't there, yet.

So come launch day, DAAMIT will have one major SKU, which is notionally no better than anything Graphzilla has on offer, with no high-end halo-maker in sight and no mid-range money-maker on the horizon. It's a far cry from the fierce competition the pair saw over the last few generations. Many have likened the Radeon X2k to Nvidia's GeForce FX. But at least Nvidia made a bit of an effort to at least pretend like the FX was a decent card, and managed to push out a stonkingly successful low-end part off the back of it. No danger of DAAMIT managing that, we think.

you are now up to date

with the *latest*

no need for 'thanks'

 

[olmer]

Sorry if posted already.

p25 and 26

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2488/000119312507108224/d10q.htm

 

[Gstanfor]

Well, AMD is still spouting a lot of crap, sorry to say

case in point

AMD showcases 45 nm silicon
By Wolfgang Gruener
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 15:15

Monterey (CA) ? At an event held in Monterey today, AMD showed a wafer with ?fully functional? 45 nm silicon for the first time.

According to chief technology officer Phil Hester, the 300 mm wafer code-named ?Typhoon?, shown in public for the first time today, holds 45 nm dies combining SRAM and logic. The executive said that AMD?s 45 nm process is on track and recent notes from Intel that AMD is facing yield issues ?are rubbish? and ?wishful thinking on their side?.

The 300 mm wafers with 45 nm structures are expected to ramp in production at the end of 2007. First 45 nm processors are expected to be commercially available by mid of 2008.

Um, hello AMD....., Intel will be launching 45nm CPU's this year, not mid way through next year...

intel roadmap

Now who's got a case of "wishful thinking on their side"?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: olmer
Sorry if posted already.

p25 and 26

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2488/000119312507108224/d10q.htm

Go here, put in AMD for the ticker symbol and hunt down the latest 10-Q report. Scroll down to P26, and look at the numbers.

i just *mentioned it*

for the lazy

Computing Solutions

Computing Solutions net revenue of $918 million in the first quarter of 2007 decreased 31 percent compared to net revenue of $1,337 million in the first quarter of 2006. The first quarter of 2006 did not include revenue from the sale of ATI chipsets. Net revenue decreased primarily as a result of a 32 percent decrease in average selling prices and a 15 percent decrease in unit shipments for our microprocessors as compared to the first quarter of 2006. Average selling prices for our microprocessors decreased due to competitive market conditions and aggressive pricing by our principal competitor. Moreover, our competitor offered quad-core multi-chip module processors during the first quarter of 2007, and since we did not offer quad-core products during this period, we discounted the selling price of certain of our competing products which adversely impacted our average selling prices, margins and profitability. Unit shipments for our microprocessors decreased for a number of reasons: we experienced lower demand for our microprocessors, in part because our competitor offered quad-core microprocessors during this period while we did not; we experienced a decrease in sales through our distributor channel; and we continued to experience challenges in the ability of our supply chain to deliver products in the right mix and on a timely basis. Sales through our distributors were adversely impacted in the first quarter of 2007 because we were not able to adequately meet their demand in the second half of 2006.

Computing Solutions net revenue of $918 million in the first quarter of 2007 decreased 38 percent compared to net revenue of $1,486 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 primarily as a result of a 37 percent decrease in unit shipments and a 10 percent decrease in average selling prices for our microprocessors as compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. Unit shipments for our microprocessors decreased for the reasons set forth above. Average selling prices for our microprocessors decreased due to continued aggressive pricing by our competitor and the competitive product environment discussed above.

Computing Solutions operating loss was $321 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared to operating income of $312 million in the first quarter of 2006. The decrease in operating results was primarily due to a 31 percent decrease in net revenues, an increase of $63 million in research and development expenses and an increase of $39 million in marketing, general and administrative expenses. Net revenue decreased for the reasons set forth above. Research and development expenses and marketing, general and administrative expenses increased for the reasons set forth under ?Expenses? below.

Computing Solutions operating loss was $321 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared to operating income of $65 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. The decrease in operating results was primarily due to a 38 percent decrease in net revenues, a $15 million increase in research and development expenses and a $25 million increase in marketing, general and administrative expenses. Net revenue decreased for the reasons set forth above. Research and development expenses and marketing, general and administrative expenses increased for the reasons set forth under ?Expenses? below.

Graphics

Graphics net revenue and operating loss in the first quarter of 2007 were $197 million and $35 million, respectively. Prior to the ATI acquisition, effective October 25, 2006, we did not sell comparable products.

Graphics net revenue of $197 million in the first quarter of 2007 increased 19 percent compared to net revenue of $166 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 as a result of a 54 percent increase in unit shipments. Unit shipments increased because the first quarter of 2007 reflected a full quarter (or 13 weeks) of revenue from sales of graphics products as compared to nine weeks of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2006. Average selling prices in the first quarter of 2007 decreased by 23 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2006 because of a mix shift to lower-end GPUs and an increasingly competitive product environment, particularly for GPU products.

:Q

they have 2 billion for the short term . ... there IS hope

they followed *my suggeestion*:

AMD is cutting 2.6% of its workforce in a bid to save money, it said yesterday.

That's 430 peeps, most of whom will be coming from Sales and Marketing

i know they are real people with jobs ... but they haven't been doing theirs for AMD

--a little hope.


now to get AMD 110% back on-track they need to hire me
:shocked:

i know how to turn that r600 turkey into a winner ...
--nvidia would be gone in 5 years ... acquired by intel

:laugh:

 

[BlizzardOne]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
Well, AMD is still spouting a lot of crap, sorry to say

case in point

AMD showcases 45 nm silicon
By Wolfgang Gruener
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 15:15

Monterey (CA) ? At an event held in Monterey today, AMD showed a wafer with ?fully functional? 45 nm silicon for the first time.

According to chief technology officer Phil Hester, the 300 mm wafer code-named ?Typhoon?, shown in public for the first time today, holds 45 nm dies combining SRAM and logic. The executive said that AMD?s 45 nm process is on track and recent notes from Intel that AMD is facing yield issues ?are rubbish? and ?wishful thinking on their side?.

The 300 mm wafers with 45 nm structures are expected to ramp in production at the end of 2007. First 45 nm processors are expected to be commercially available by mid of 2008.

Um, hello AMD....., Intel will be launching 45nm CPU's this year, not mid way through next year...

intel roadmap

Now who's got a case of "wishful thinking on their side"?

Congratulations. That would be you!!

Maybe you should learn to read things in CONTEXT.:disgust:

Even a brain dead chimp would be able to tell that the article is clearly refering to AMD 45nm chips. Not once in the article does it mention Intel, anywhere.

 

[Gstanfor]

And what good will the 45nm process do AMD 1 year after their competitor has been exploiting it?

The article is pure FUD -- "Hy look! we can do 45nm too! just not right now".

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
And what good will the 45nm process do AMD 1 year after their competitor has been exploiting it?

The article is pure FUD -- "Hy look! we can do 45nm too! just not right now".

you still don't get it ... i thought you were an AMD fan

AMD intends to compete with intel using their current process with Barcelona ...

the 45nm process .. next year ... will be cooler and faster to compete "better"

 

[Gstanfor]

I'm sure Barcelona will perform as advertised against Conroe, but will it against Nehalem. Once again, AMD is too late to matter.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
I'm sure Barcelona will perform as advertised against Conroe, but will it against Nehalem. Once again, AMD is too late to matter.

I'm sure AMD have plans for that as well,they don't tell us everything,besides not everybody buys Intel,I actually prefer AMD CPUs,Conroe not withstanding.
I think my X2 CPU can hold out until Barcelona arrives.

Remember without AMD we all would be assimilated into Intel like good little drones,scarey thought that.

 

[ElFenix]

i don't understand the hate for a company that is being honest.

what part of AMD saying they'll have 45 nm out in mid 2008 FUD about intel products?

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Mem

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
I'm sure Barcelona will perform as advertised against Conroe, but will it against Nehalem. Once again, AMD is too late to matter.

I'm sure AMD have plans for that as well,they don't tell us everything,besides not everybody buys Intel,I actually prefer AMD CPUs,Conroe not withstanding.
I think my X2 CPU can hold out until Barcelona arrives.

Remember without AMD we all would be assimilated into Intel like good little drones,scarey thought that.

AMD all ready announced a 45nm shanghi core for 08'. We don't know for sure what Barcelona will bring, so 08' it's another "anybodies guess". Though will likely get a better idea in Aug-Sept.

 

[Acanthus]

Preliminary numbers on Penryn (which, sadly, are far more concrete and credible than barcelona numbers out there) are showing large gains over Conroe and Clovertown. Not only does AMD have to surpass the Penryn IPC increase, but they have to keep up with clockspeeds. Penryn will be 45nm which means once again AMD will be running a cache, clock, thermal, and power consumption disadvantage.

They are going to have to really pull out all of the stops to keep up with chipzilla.

Im still very concerned with AMDs financial future, moving X2s at $50 is great for the value consumer, but its awful for their bottom line.

 

[Gstanfor]

Yes, but really, Barcelona *should* be here and competing now against Conroe, FAB30 should have long since been converted from 8" to 12" wafers (back when k8 profits would have easily allowed it). Frankly AMD was caught napping on the job by intel and they will pay a heavy price for their laziness.

 

[apoppin]

http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39440

looking good ... *really* good

AMD IS DOING something that we haven't seen a chip company do in a long time, sandbagging its official roadmaps.

A while ago we told you about the intended launch frequencies, basically 1.9-2.5GHz, but that was before B0 parts came back.

We were told that the B0 stepping was due a few weeks ago, early April to be inexact, and they've been returned for inspection. If they were clean, they would be the launch stepping, and the Q2 date was do-able. If not, add in another few months, and you were looking at the end of Q3, maybe.

We understand that people in Austin were 'dancing in the aisles'. When asked if that was because of B0, we were told that people are very happy, very very happy, but he had 'never heard of such a thing'.

Another source claimed the memory controller, long a bottleneck in K8 scaling, came in way better than expected.

So what do you end up with? A massive gain in frequency. How massive? Almost 500MHz. Instead of the much touted launch parts, look for five SKUs at launch, AM2 quads at 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz and 2.9GHz, a dual at 2.7GHz and a quad on socket F at 2.8GHz.

We think whoever worked this magic deserves a pat on the head, a few days off after launch, and quite possibly a raise. Twnty per cent faster out of the gate is nothing to be sneezed at. The only question that remains is what volumes AMD can deliver at these speeds.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: nemesismk2
I am one of the few people (unless I am mistaken?) who think the acquisition of ATI was a bold and wise move by AMD so I think there is definitely reason for hope!

In the long-run maybe. R600 on the high-end looks to be a flop but if it can beat NV in the portable DX10 market that's where the big money is sitting.

In the short-term its been devastating to AMD. Every gloom and doom news bit published about them cites the 550 million operating loss in Q4 but they never disclose 500 million of that is from the acquisition of ATI. Reality is people just look at the bottom-line and don't care too much how you got there.

Its also weakened their cash and borrowing positions considerably to the point they're reportedly having problems finishing their 45nm fabs (the foundation for Barcelona btw). Not sure if the Q1 financials have been disclosed yet, but its supposed to be another quarter in the red.

Say hello to GeForce M ?

Looks like your not the only one who knows where the "big money" is. Everybody seems to be on top of their game 'cept AMD. What........is........the.......deal........?

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: apoppin
http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39440

looking good ... *really* good

AMD IS DOING something that we haven't seen a chip company do in a long time, sandbagging its official roadmaps.

A while ago we told you about the intended launch frequencies, basically 1.9-2.5GHz, but that was before B0 parts came back.

We were told that the B0 stepping was due a few weeks ago, early April to be inexact, and they've been returned for inspection. If they were clean, they would be the launch stepping, and the Q2 date was do-able. If not, add in another few months, and you were looking at the end of Q3, maybe.

We understand that people in Austin were 'dancing in the aisles'. When asked if that was because of B0, we were told that people are very happy, very very happy, but he had 'never heard of such a thing'.

Another source claimed the memory controller, long a bottleneck in K8 scaling, came in way better than expected.

So what do you end up with? A massive gain in frequency. How massive? Almost 500MHz. Instead of the much touted launch parts, look for five SKUs at launch, AM2 quads at 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz and 2.9GHz, a dual at 2.7GHz and a quad on socket F at 2.8GHz.

We think whoever worked this magic deserves a pat on the head, a few days off after launch, and quite possibly a raise. Twnty per cent faster out of the gate is nothing to be sneezed at. The only question that remains is what volumes AMD can deliver at these speeds.

Thats lovely -- on paper. It will be early 2008 before consumers get to see much of the above action though, by then intel will have consumers up to their eyeballs in 45nm chips.

 

[apoppin]

it says Q2-Q3

... once the server chip rolls, the desktop isn't far behind

they are right ...the question is 'volume'

 

[apoppin]

Good news

http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39548

WE WONDERED why AMD share prices rose yesterday, despite many other shares dropping on the US markets.

But the reason could be because mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments announced in a filing that it's raised its stake in the somewhat troubled chip firm to 13 per cent, according to a report on Bloomberg.

Fidelity now owns 72.3 million shares of AMD. We believe that this time last year Fidelity owned a rather large 18 per cent of ATI, prior to its take over by AMD.

AMD closed on the NYSE yesterday evening at $14.05 - it had started off the day at $13.48.

and less good ... but necessary

http://uk.theinquirer.net/?article=39555

Yesterday's announcement amounted to a cut of around three per cent of DAAMIT's global workforce. Less than a month ago, Hector himself promised a total workforce reduction of around five per cent, so there's still another 2% to go - or around 300ish people with the axe still ominously looming.

Our sources tell us that the announcement on Wednesday of the 430 cuts was preceded by a number of 'personal interviews' in the halls of the AMD meeting rooms, with plenty of security guards lurking on hand to escort unwanted employees out of the door.

While the cuts were billed as 'performance managed' out of the company, sources suggest that many people were chopped for political reasons, rather than performance.

One engineer of 10+ years experience, just the kind of chap you'd expect DAAMIT to need in its bid to get to grips with its latest tech line, was bundled out rather ungraciously with no 'performance related' cause to speak of.

Hector's gopher, Dirk Meyer, did let everyone know, in an internal memo, that employees were being encouraged to apply for other positions inside the company. However, in the next sentence, he reiterated that the company has a hiring freeze in place right now, so such hiring was rather unlikely. Joined up management?

It seems that the bloodshed is far from over at AMD and ATI, and the ongoing political struggles inside the company are going to continue to have ramifications both internally and in terms of products. Unhappy employees do not good products make.

 

[Gstanfor]

There is a new anandtech article up, focussing on AMD - Text

Here is what they had to say about the 45nm test wafer:

AMD showed off the same 45nm SRAM test vehicle we saw over a year ago in Dresden, which is a bit bothersome. We expected to see more than what we had already seen, but it could be that AMD continues to be a bit more guarded than we'd like; either that or functional 45nm CPU silicon just isn't yielding yet.

It seems to me AMD really has bet the entire farm on Fusion - it had better work for their sake, I'm just not sure they are going to make it through to 2010 when fusion really kicks in at this rate.

 

[apoppin]

you "got it"
:Q

yes, they ARE betting everything on their "vision" of becoming a graphics-based CPU company

AMD figured that is the only way a small company can "take on" intel.

----and you and i finally [:Q] agree ... it *had better* work for [AMD's] sake
[and ours ]

 

[Regs]

After reading Anand's article AMD was betting on everything to be multi-threaded too. Luckily they scrapped the project in time all though AMD does not have the resources like Intel to run two R&D teams at the same time.

 

[apoppin]

at least AMD had the brains to see they were going in the wrong directiion

it looks like they know what they must do

PBS interviewed some of the AMD officials last week ... i got a "preview" of anand's article there

hence the "hope" thread