AMD changes tack on developing-world PC
295218
Wants to sell chips, not finished systems AMD isn't quitting the low-cost, developing world-oriented PC arena after all - it's simply changing its business model, the company has claimed. Instead of manufacturing a box - such as the Personal Internet Communicator, aka 'Emma', it canned earlier this month - it will devise reference platforms system builders can use as a foundation for their own products.â¦
393240
(InfoWorld) - After watching its market share for the North American desktop PC market slip in a soft third quarter, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) will seek greater profits in 2007 throughÂ a new family of quad-core server chipsÂ and itsÂ acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI. "From a customer perspective, our integration is completed," said Henri Richard, AMD's chief sales and marketing officer during the company's annual analyst meeting in New York on Thursday. The companies still face several years of work to reach their goal of launching a combined processor and graphics chip called Fusion, but since closing the deal in October, they have already combined sales forces, supply chains and manufacturing facilities. In the short term, that will enable "the new AMD" to benefit whenÂ Microsoft's launch of the Windows VistaÂ OS sparks increased demand for visual capability in PCs. "Vista will change the paradigm of how people relate to their PCs and their criteria for selecting devices in 2007. That emphasis on a more visual experience will give AMD an edge," Richard said. AMD will also use the ATI acquisition to enter the fast-growing consumer electronics market in 2007, selling more video processing chips as demand rises for digital and high-definition TV, and selling more embedded chips as handheld devices converge the capabilities of cell phones and PCs, he said. AMD expects 19 percent growth for its chips used in the handheld sector and 44 percent growth in digital TVs. In the meantime, AMD will focus on its bread-and-butter product, the Opteron server chip. AMD plans to increase its revenue from microprocessors and chipsets by 20 percent in 2007, twice its prediction for the industry's growth rate. Chip-making rival Intel Corp. regained some ground in the desktop and server markets in recent months with its Core 2 Duo and dual-core Woodcrest Xeon chips. But AMD is poised to defend its turf. The company demonstrated a four-chip server using laboratory versions of its "Barcelona" quad-core Opteron chip at the meeting. Compared to AMD's own dual-core server chips, the design marks a 40 percent to 70 percent improvement in processing power and a 60 percent improvement in performance per watt. AMD plans to launch that chip for high-end servers in the second half of 2007, and update it with a "Shanghai" model in 2008. The company also plans to expand from its stable of processors designed for two, four and eight-chip servers in 2007 by launching "Budapest,"a quad-core Opteron chip designed for the single-processor servers used in the small business market. AMD will also improve its Turion and Sempron notebook chips, extending battery life with a more efficient "Hawk" model in 2007 and "Griffin" model in 2008. Together, those products will help return AMD to a better mix of products, Richard said. "We had been heavily reliant on the desktop sector. Now our server and laptop segments are growing faster, so we will soon reach the industry average." AMD has already started designing an eight-core server chip, set for release in three years, but has no plans to build chips with even more cores. "I think most people recognize the industry made a mistake getting into the megahertz wars, because we should have been more focused on the efficiency of the overall platform. And we would make another mistake if we got into a core war," said Phil Hester, AMD's chief technology officer. "You'd scratch your head if someone tried to sell you a 16- or 32-cylinder car and ask 'Why on earth do I need this?' You really need something whose capabilities are matched to what you'll use it for every day."
415181
AMD&#39;s new dual-core Opteron chip is designed mainly for corporate computing applications, including databases, Web services, and financial transactions.
482506
New Quad FX Platform gives Advanced Micro Devices an answer to Intel's quad-core PC chip, but in a piecemeal fashion.
228297
AMD has announced that its 65nm fabrication transition is now underway. AMD's goal is to fully convert its Dresden, Germany, fabrication facility to 100% 65nm by the middle of next year, with the first 65nm Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors due in the first quarter.
102530
AMD took the wraps off its first ever x86 64-bit dual-core processor during demonstrations held at the company&#39;s Austin facilities Tuesday.
296575
(InfoWorld) - Global PC sales have slowed a tad over the past few weeks as the market waits for Intel to announce new price reductions, market researchers said. The world's largest chip maker is widely expected to publish a new price list on July 22 that shows lower prices for microprocessors aimed at the desktop PC market. The company regularly updates its pricing, but doesn't disclose when or how much prices will change, an Intel spokesman said Thursday. Still, PC makers in Taiwan, as well as analysts and market researchers said they receive word of price changes ahead of time, and that the expected Intel price reductions were the reason Advanced Micro DevicesÂ announced microprocessor price cuts earlier this month. AMD slashed prices on its top-of-the-line desktop PC microprocessors by a few hundred dollars, and now offers six AMD Athlon dual-core microprocessors for below $100 each. The AMD move was aimed atÂ pre-empting Intel's anticipated July reductions, according to a report by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs Group. The expected price cuts are a continuation of Intel's battle for market share against rival AMD. It's a fight that has been great for users, particularly in desktop PCs. Microprocessors are among the most expensive parts in a PC, so price cuts on the chips usually lead to better deals for users, either on lower PC prices or more add-ons, such as better DVD drives, more memory, or larger hard disks. The market share battles have also prompted both Intel and AMD to boost technology, resulting in more bang for a user's buck. The price war hasn't been so good for the companies. Intel's stock fell 4.8 percent to end at $25.06 per share on the NASDAQ stock exchange Wednesday, a day afterÂ the company reportedÂ a lower than expected profit margin for the second quarter. Analysts blamed the price war. The fight with Intel has caused AMD to report weaker earnings in recent quarters, and analysts are not optimistic about its second quarter earnings, which it will report later Thursday in the U.S. "We believe the worse than expected gross margin, higher than expected R&D [research and development] spending and low quality earnings leverage (tax rate changes, sold depreciation, etc.) will cast a shadow over [Intel's] stock," wrote Michael Masdea, chip analyst at Credit Suisse Securities (USA), in a recent report. He predicted that Intel gained market share on AMD in the second quarter, based onÂ its earnings report. Market researchers were not able to say exactly how muchÂ the PC marketÂ has slowed over the past few weeks, but indicated that the weaker sales have shown up in various places in the PC component supply chain. Slower trading in the DRAM (dynamic RAM) market, for example, caused prices to drop last week, according to DRAMeXchange Technology, which runs an online DRAM trading site. The company blamed the anticipated Intel price adjustments for the declines. Â
12117
AMD provides a sneak peek at how its pending quad-core chip will improve performance and save energy.
376298
Though there may be fewer consumer notebook and desktop computers with AMD processor options available online through Dell Direct today than there were last week, an AMD spokesperson told BetaNews that Dell is not backing away.
284466
AMD (NYSE: AMD) has unveiled a new mobile processor, adding to its portfolio of chips for notebook PCs and keeping pace with Intel's Centrino offering.
563023
AMD has teamed up with partners in India, Mexico and the Caribbean in an ambitious bid to equip half of the world&#39;s population with internet connectivity and computing capabilities by 2015.
736706
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) is expected to unveil its most powerful desktop processors to date on Tuesday, a few days after rival Intel Corp. disclosed changes to its desktop processor road map.
308181
Powerful processor will target high-end desktop PCs in an effort to stay ahead of AMD.
666194
Chipmaker AMD has developed a low-cost Web access appliance called the &quot;Personal Information Communicator&quot; (PIC) that it plans to sell in developing countries.
157157
InfoWorld - Dell has scaled back the range of consumer PCs with processors from AMD that it sells on its Web site, focussing almost exclusively on systems with Intel processors.
221939
For years, ATI played itself as the performance leader in the graphics space. But now as part of AMD, which is having a difficult time of late making its case for CPU performance, ATI may have to make like its new corporate parent for a little while.
423198
AMD plans to combine the functions of three chips -- the GPU (graphics processing unit ), core-logic chipset, and CPU --&#160;into one, code-named &quot;Swift,&quot; an executive said Thursday.The company, which runs second to Intel in the global microprocessor business, plans to launch Swift in the second half of 2009. It&#39;s using parts of several of its top chips to create this new device, which it calls an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit).&quot;I keep telling you that it&#39;s not all about the CPU. The CPU is important, but now there are other blocks that contribute to the experience a consumer gets in a machine,&quot; said Mario Rivas, an executive vice president at AMD, during an analyst meeting broadcast on the Internet Thursday.Several chips make a difference in PC performance, he said. Swift will carry AMD&#39;s &quot;Stars&quot; processor cores, the company&#39;s latest graphics cores, and the northbridge from Griffin, the central processor used in its newest laptop PC platform.The new chip will be AMD&#39;s second attempt at such combinations.&#160;The company has pledged to launch a chip code-named &quot;Fusion&quot; late next year or in early 2009 that integrates the CPU and the graphics processor on one chip. AMD says combining the chips in Fusion will increase performance and energy efficiency.Such work is important to the computing industry as people demand smaller, battery-dependent devices. It also saves space. The fewer chips required inside a laptop, for example, the more space a designer has to make it smaller or add other features.Swift will be made using AMD&#39;s 45-nanometer production technology, Rivas said.The company was unable to immediately provide further details of the new chip.