AMD CEO talks of long-term turnaround

[ShintaiDK]

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/b...ve-amd-ceo-talks-of-long-term-turnaround.html

Article with Lisa Su about the long term plan.

One part is interesting.

She said, however, that AMD plans to stay away from developing for the personal computer market because of its volatility. Instead, the company is looking to play where AMD’s strengths intersect with growing demand while trying to engender investor confidence with a steady release of new products that highlight progress for the long term.

Seems the exit plan is laid.

 

[deanx0r]

Does that mean they are exiting the CPU/APU/dGPU business? That kind of contradicts what she said a while back about focusing on leading products. What are AMD strengths at this point? You could say console APUs but I doubt they can command a premium on those, and their venture with Sea Micro went down the gutter.

 

[ShintaiDK]

The slide from analyst day:

Fiji was a completely flop for the pro segment. So I guess the 3 vectors are server, embedded and semicustom.

 

[Ketchup]

Are they thinking of turning into IBM and start constantly "evolving?"

Also, having read what was highlighted, I wonder what they actually means. As shown by one of the threads in here, are they going to keep developing computer parts, and just start calling the end result by a different name?

 

[frozentundra123456]

Pretty much meaningless business speak. What is she supposed to say? I dont really know what she means by where AMD is strong though, if they abandon the desktop PC market. Really they are betting the farm it seems on Zen being able to compete effectively with Intel and ARM in the server market. I do think a turnaround is possible, if Zen competes effectively and they continue with the consoles. However, it is just as possible that Zen will be late and or mediocre (or simply be unable to compete with Intel's and ARM's marketing prowess), and the consoles will go ARM, in which case AMD is done for.

 

[ninaholic37]

My last AMD machine was an Acer C-50 bobcat netbook around 2011 for $199. Then Windows 8 and touchscreens came out and I never felt any desire to buy a modern laptop/computer since. I am ok if no more new Personal Computers ever get produced again by anybody, I can just keep putting Linux and Ms-Dos on old pre-2012 laptops until I'm dead and be a happy camper :biggrin:

 

[erunion]

It seems like they are committed to moving out of PCs, but it also seems like they aren't exactly sure where they'd rather be.

 

[Shehriazad]

As long as we still get Zen for PC xD

 

[Fjodor2001]

Sounds very strange. Where would that put the Zen APU?

Maybe she was misinterpreted. There is no actual quote from her in the article confirming that she says AMD will stay way from the Personal Computer business.

 

[Abwx]

Lol, what she said is really trivial, but i guess that it take quite a biaised agenda to interpret it the way the op does...

HP, Lenovo and other Acer are in the PC business, AMD are not, they are in the CPU/APU/GPU business...

 

[soccerballtux]

what are AMD's strengths and where do they intersect with growing demand?

 

[nenforcer]

what are AMD's strengths and where do they intersect with growing demand?

SemiCustom is gaining a new customer with Nintendo's new NX console which is still a year away from reveal. If it can do half of what the Nintendo Wii did that will be a huge deal - although if it performs like Nintendo Wii U that is nothing to be proud of.

There is still too much money to be made piggybacking off of Intel with their x86 license. If they can get a 40% IPC boost with Zen at .16nm that's going to put them right back into a lot of server (Opteron) deals as long as their price / performance is in check.

 

[mrmt]

what are AMD's strengths and where do they intersect with growing demand?

Graphics IP. Every SoC will need some.

 

[rtsurfer]

Graphics IP. Every SoC will need some.

If only they hadn't sold Adreno.

 

[mrmt]

There is still too much money to be made piggybacking off of Intel with their x86 license. If they can get a 40% IPC boost with Zen at .16nm that's going to put them right back into a lot of server (Opteron) deals as long as their price / performance is in check.

Do you really think this managememt should have any credibility regarding performance estimates after fiji?

 

[mrmt]

If only they hadn't sold Adreno.

They can develop it again. Cheaper and easier than a CPU core.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Graphics IP. Every SoC will need some.

Yes, especially the igp. That is why I was so shocked to see the first Zen models have no igp at all. But maybe HBM is not ready for prime time, especially for APUs, and really for an APU to shine it needs HBM or edram.

 

[mrmt]

Yes, especially the igp. That is why I was so shocked to see the first Zen models have no igp at all. But maybe HBM is not ready for prime time, especially for APUs, and really for an APU to shine it needs HBM or edram.

I think HBM will be too expensive for mainstream products, especially for a product that sits on the bottom of the spectrum.

 

[rtsurfer]

They can develop it again. Cheaper and easier than a CPU core.

And sell it to whom.?
Almost all Android phones(popular ones) use Qualcomm.

If they can outdo Mali, then Apple could be a potential great customer, Samsung too; in some markets.

Then Intel is also competing in the Soc space, gotta deal with that "contra revenue'.

 

[sandorski]

Fiji has only been out a week and most of it has yet to be released and it's already a "failure"? I'm calling shens.

I suspect AMD will focus on developing Custom APUs and other solutions for various purposes. That doesn't mean they will abandon PCs, in fact some of the technologies developed from those Custom Solutions are bound to make it to the PC. Going this route gives them greater return on R&D, it also keeps them more focused on meeting specific needs of their customers. That particular focus also takes them out of the Future Prediction business that goes along with developing for the PC alone. It's still a risk on the PC side if the technology they develop is unsuitable for PC usage. However, if that technology turns out to be useful on the PC side, the reward could be huge.

Time will tell how this plays out. I suspect AMD is going to be around a long time, longer than many of us will live, but whether it has presence in the PC Market in the future is unknown.

 

[mrmt]

Fiji has only been out a week and most of it has yet to be released and it's already a "failure"? I'm calling shens.

Fiji was below what AMD has been saying to customers and investors and is priced along higher performance Nvidia parts. So yes, I call it a failure. The 300 Series + Fiji won't make AMD gain share from Nvidia, as Lisa stated a few months ago.

I suspect AMD will focus on developing Custom APUs and other solutions for various purposes. That doesn't mean they will abandon PCs, in fact some of the technologies developed from those Custom Solutions are bound to make it to the PC.

That's a very peculiar interpretation of "AMD plans to stay away from developing for the personal computer market because of its volatility"

 

[sandorski]

Fiji was below what AMD has been saying to customers and investors and is priced along higher performance Nvidia parts. So yes, I call it a failure. The 300 Series + Fiji won't make AMD gain share from Nvidia, as Lisa stated a few months ago.



That's a very peculiar interpretation of "AMD plans to stay away from developing for the personal computer market because of its volatility"

The Success/Failure of it is too early to determine. You may not want it, but that's not the determinating factor.

 

[mrmt]

The Success/Failure of it is too early to determine. You may not want it, but that's not the determinating factor.

No, it's not. It didn't change the competitive landscape so there is no chance it will improve AMD fortunes on the market.

 

[sandorski]

No, it's not. It didn't change the competitive landscape so there is no chance it will improve AMD fortunes on the market.

We'll see.

 

[svenge]

The Success/Failure of it is too early to determine. You may not want it, but that's not the determinating factor.

Considering the additional BOM cost of HBM memory and the mandatory AIO cooler for the Fury-X, I don't see how AMD can afford to execute their usual tactic of rapidly dropping a new product's MSRP to significantly lower levels upon discovering that it is a relative failure in the marketplace...