Why are Intel and AMD basically alone?

[B Lo]

Why is it that Intel has basically dominated the market with only AMD as serious competition for mainstream processors? Is it all marketing? If so, why doesn't AMD push harder? They certainly make a good product... maybe they're just nerds... really smart (good chips), but suck at social skills (crappy advertising)...

Why is Dell so tied up with Intel? I understand that Intel makes a good CPU. However, why not give customers a choice? I don't see why not, when Dell could charge less money and make just as much while maintaining a good product.

 

[ponyo]

Stay in school.

 

[DragonFire]

Lets see....Intel was around for the first home PC, while AMD wasn't? Now days its mostly marketing, something AMD cant really do because they have so little cash compared to Intel...
Dell is tied up with them because they sleep with eachother and Dell gets free cpus from intel as well.

The only way Dell will go with AMD is if AMD can prove they can meet the demand and they start telling the truth about whats really going. Instead of avoiding questions about what problems they might or are having....

 

[MisterChief]

It's the "MICROSOFT MONOPOLY" deal all over again. Now, don't worry your little head over Intel's dominance, by my understanding, AMD is gaining a large fan base in gaming and general industry, with the AMD64 and Sempron respectively.

 

[Zebo]

Cause it's like 10 billion just to get your first chip out the door then another 10 billion fighting lawsuits/saleries for all the people you'd have to steal from AMD and Intel just to get that first chip out the door in addition to IP lawsuits.

This is'nt a software startup where gates could start with 500K and print floppies for his revenue stream.

 

[tallman45]

Why is Dell tied up with Intel ?

NASDAQ

 

[Hanpan]

Quite simply the largest barrier is startup costs. Designing a chip from scratch building fabs etc can quickly run into the tens of billions of dollars before you actually see a product roll off the production line.

 

[wchou]

To tell you the truth, I do miss winchips and cyrix, their geat as an alternative. They would evolved to where AMD is now with semptron and XP had they been successful.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: wchou
To tell you the truth, I do miss winchips and cyrix, their geat as an alternative. They would evolved to where AMD is now with semptron and XP had they been successful.

I was under the impression that the VIA CPU's were basically cyrix

 

[ts3433]

VIA bought up Cyrix. They still make the C3 processors, I think--they're mainly useful to put in Mini-ITX formfactor systems and sell in cheap combos. Great for small terminals.

 

[Lifted]

I've noticed current mid range Sonicwall firewalls use 800MHz VIA CPU's. They sport low power, low cooling requirements, and most importantly low cost.

 

[B Lo]

If I recall correctly VIA processors are pretty efficient in terms of heat production. Most can get away with minimal cooling and still run perfectly.

Also, what prevents IBM and others from entering the PC market? They already have the facilities. So why not? It seems like the monopoly is only due to lack of serious competition, not a superior product.

 

[ts3433]

IBM's sorta in the processor market--they partner with AMD and designed the PowerPC architecture that powers the G5. They're not in the market in the sense of an Intel or AMD, but they have an influence.

 

[MisterChief]

Anybody hear about IBM developing processors for the Xbox Next?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Hey now... Cyrix is still around: http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/

And you're only talking about the x86 platform. There's other processors. Motorola? Transmeta? There used to be the DEC Alpha, but Compaq screwed that up! But mostly I think the reason is x86 pantent infringement. I think it just comes down to too much to risk. Much of what AMD does is grandfathered in because they've been around so long. It'd be a high risk market for anyone else.

 

[Zebo]

Jonny, I once compared (about a dozen tests) a C3 1.0Ghz to a barton @ 1.0ghz when looking to build a silent system just for web browsing/office work/continual distro box... The barton was at least 3x faster in most tests..:Q


Via got a POS

 

[RadiclDreamer]

No, Via got a cpu that can run with little to no cooling. I've heard of some being ran even without a heat sink. However most I've seen use a passive cooling solution, try that with a barton

 

[Zebo]

I did. Worked fine w. 1.1 core & no HSF only using around 12W here.

http://www.benchtest.com/calc.html

2600 mobile 2.0Ghz, 1.45 stock core, and 45W