[Softpedia] AMD Not Competing with Intel Anymore, Goes Mobile

[DisgruntledVirus]

I'd be willing to bet that AMD is trying to gain back the server market. As others have mentioned, that's where the real money is at. As AMD has been getting it handed to them for a few years now in all markets, I'd wager they are going back to the core market driving their business (outside the ATI side of things). As another poster mentioned, in high density server blade systems (8/16 module blade chassis) the trend is to move towards high quantities of cheaper/lower end stuff. It's more cost effective and easier to repair too.

Also, AMD might not be out of the desktop market just might give up on the high end for a bit while it gets the server side together. Assuming the thoughts I have about their possible future direction is heading based off this announcement.

 

[JimKiler]

Get off GlobalFoundries and make your own fabs, AMD.. whatever the cost.

Do you know who owned the assets of Global Foundries before Global Foundries existed?

 

[cbn]

I'd be willing to bet that AMD is trying to gain back the server market. As others have mentioned, that's where the real money is at. As AMD has been getting it handed to them for a few years now in all markets, I'd wager they are going back to the core market driving their business (outside the ATI side of things). As another poster mentioned, in high density server blade systems (8/16 module blade chassis) the trend is to move towards high quantities of cheaper/lower end stuff. It's more cost effective and easier to repair too.

Also, AMD might not be out of the desktop market just might give up on the high end for a bit while it gets the server side together. Assuming the thoughts I have about their possible future direction is heading based off this announcement.

From the standpoint of ARM and the server market, I'd bet having AMD on their side would be a real advantage.

 

[ikachu]

Here is a list of the AMD Top Executives:

Notice all of them (but three) are listed as Austin, Texas.

http://www.amd.com/us/aboutamd/corporate-information/executives/Pages/amd-executives.aspx

So much for Sunnyvale being the headquarters of AMD.

Most likely they are headquartered in Austin because Texas doesn't have a state income tax...

 

[GaiaHunter]

Last tine I've heard about AMD abandoning a high end market, after a disastrous release, a couple of years later a pair of little products named 4850 and 4870 arrived to the market.

If only history could repeat itself, but somehow I'm not hopeful...

 

[KayVeeEmm]

AMD's demise in the desktop front means Intel can and will build a monopoly in it. Bad news for all.

Llano is quite successful so I at least hope they can still compete well in the laptop department.

The desktop industry is overall shrinking, including myself who use a desktop less and less often.

 

[cbn]

Most likely they are headquartered in Austin because Texas doesn't have a state income tax...

I was remembering this press release--> http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2011/08/amd-names-new-ceo-to-be-based-in.html

I failed to notice mention that the previous two CEOs were also mainly based out of Austin, TX.

AMD names new CEO, to be based in Austin, Texas

AMD (NYSE: AMD) named Rory Read, a former Lenovo Group Ltd. executive, as president and CEO and a member of its board of directors. He will be based out of Austin, Texas, the Austin Business Journal is reporting. The Austin Business Journal is a sister publication of The Business Review.

Although AMD (NYSE: AMD) is based in Sunnyvale, California, Read will be based in Austin, where the chip maker employs 2,500 workers. The company's two previous CEOs, Hector Ruiz and Dirk Meyer, were also mainly based in Austin, a spokesman said.

The company has been operating without a CEO since it fired Meyer in January. Chief Financial Officer Thomas Seifert had been interim CEO.

AMD co-owns chip maker GlobalFoundries with the Abu Dhabi government. GlobalFoundries is building a $4.6 billion chip plant in Malta, located in Saratoga County about 25 minutes north of Albany, New York.

 

[mosox]

Intel already has a monopoly (on the distribution), the Opteron and Athlon CPUs barely got 20% of the market share even if they were better than anything Intel.

They just let AMD keep a small part of the market so they don't appear as a monopoly (which they are).

Fix the competition and free market before expecting someone else than Intel to sink more money into this.

 

[cbn]

Intel already has a monopoly (on the distribution)

Maybe this is another good reason AMD should switch to ARM server?

 

[Arachnotronic]

Yeah, because ARM servers are so awesome and X86 sucks. Computer Bottleneck, why do you have such a propensity to champion ARM every chance you get? (If you're a stockholder, that's fine I guess...)

 

[cbn]

in high density server blade systems (8/16 module blade chassis) the trend is to move towards high quantities of cheaper/lower end stuff. It's more cost effective and easier to repair too.

Recently, I saw an AMD roadmap posted that listed 10 and 20 core CPU for the next Opterons.

Therefore, maybe there is room for AMD to make a cheaper ARM based quad core SOC that could somehow be used for both Android Tablets and ARM servers?

 

[StinkyPinky]

I think the days of pure desktop cpu's are almost over anyway. Everything these days is about saving power and being "green".

Of course there still will be desktop cpus, but they will be high end premium products and most people will have mini desktop computers with laptop parts. The move to "all-in-ones" is already taking place as we speak.

 

[cbn]

Computer Bottleneck, why do you have such a propensity to champion ARM every chance you get? (If you're a stockholder, that's fine I guess...)

Well, for one thing, I like the fact that Android is a free (or almost free) Operating system.

This would make swapping the cheap ARM hardware an easy proposition.

If Intel or AMD got x86 to run on a free widely accepted OS I would be interested in that too. In fact, at one time I was very enthusiastic about Meego. (But that OS never got traction)

 

[skipsneeky2]

I hope I could get IB in time before Intel decides to jack up the price.

If their prices tripled tomorrow i won't give them a dime for my build in a few days.
Choice between a $650 2500k and a $170 1090t will be easy LOL.

 

[piesquared]

Well, for one thing, I like the fact that Android is a free (or almost free) Operating system.

This would make swapping the cheap ARM hardware an easy proposition.

If Intel or AMD got x86 to run on a free widely accepted OS I would be interested in that too. In fact, at one time I was very enthusiastic about Meego. (But that OS never got traction)

Then you might be interested in Bluestacks.

 

[Idontcare]

Last tine I've heard about AMD abandoning a high end market, after a disastrous release, a couple of years later a pair of little products named 4850 and 4870 arrived to the market.

If only history could repeat itself, but somehow I'm not hopeful...

That was possible because the process technology was normalized out of the equation by virtue of both NV and AMD using TSMC. They competed on design alone.

That won't happen with the CPU's and Intel.

 

[Blue Shift]

Recently, I saw an AMD roadmap posted that listed 10 and 20 core CPU for the next Opterons.

Therefore, maybe there is room for AMD to make a cheaper ARM based quad core SOC that could somehow be used for both Android Tablets and ARM servers?

Does not compute.

 

[Vesku]

Well, for one thing, I like the fact that Android is a free (or almost free) Operating system.

This would make swapping the cheap ARM hardware an easy proposition.

If Intel or AMD got x86 to run on a free widely accepted OS I would be interested in that too. In fact, at one time I was very enthusiastic about Meego. (But that OS never got traction)

Android is based on Linux, there are many Linux distros available for x86. I don't see what Android offers that you can't do with Linux now in regards to Desktop hardware other than hype. Look at how much tweaking and hand wringing Google did over making sure Android apps felt OK going from phone to tablet, they will have to do the same amount if not more work to make apps work well on the desktop. And you will be just as excluded from top tier gaming as any other non-windows desktop OS, unless Google partners with one of the console makers to make Android it's OS.

 

[Remobz]

If true, this is awful news indeed!!

 

[alyarb]

Do you know who owned the assets of Global Foundries before Global Foundries existed?

Even so, a lot of the technologies at GloFo are developed in concert by IBM, Renesas, Samsung, Toshiba, STMicro, and others. I have a hard time believing IBM and Samsung are experiencing the same yield issues with their 32/28 wafers. So what *unique* problems do they have at GloFo that they don't have at IBM and Samsung?

 

[Vesku]

I would think GloFo yields would actually be fine for a chip like IBM's Power series. It's ASP is what at least 10x AMD's x86 line? Although I'm guessing creating gargantuan caches on their CPU is less problematic than lots of graphics cores AMD is dealing with. And Samsung mainly produces Low Power wafer chips, correct?

 

[cbn]

Look at how much tweaking and hand wringing Google did over making sure Android apps felt OK going from phone to tablet, they will have to do the same amount if not more work to make apps work well on the desktop.

I'm sure its a lot of work to do the programming, but look at the sheer volume of Android already in the hands of users?

The OS already has the public acceptance, so It would not be hard for me to imagine Google going even further with Android (at some point).

EDIT: As an example, Try to imagine an Intel x86 phone that runs full screen/keyboard Android apps when docked.

 

[Spikesoldier]

yeaaaahhhh!!!!! back to pay $800+ for a pentium III like processor, best news ever bro!

this

 

[hans007]

mobile is already 60% of the market. they shoudl have been going mobile a long time ago. desktop.

i can't even think of a reason to get a desktop if you are non gamer at this point when laptops are so cheap.

 

[GaiaHunter]

That was possible because the process technology was normalized out of the equation by virtue of both NV and AMD using TSMC. They competed on design alone.

That won't happen with the CPU's and Intel.

Sure, but at least one expects improvement out of a new node and that didn't exactly happen this round for AMD.

And NVIDIA was beating AMD even with process disadvantage if I'm not mistaken (GF8 90nm vs HD 2900 80nm).