Intel, AMD Unveil Differing Plans
For Promoting Computer Chips
By MOLLY WILLIAMS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
August 29, 2001
Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the two largest makers of chips that power personal computers, laid out strategies for how they plan to win more customers and spur growth in the PC industry.
Intel said it will focus on several new technology initiatives to make PCs better, easier to use and more reliable. It plans to make chips by 2003 that consume very little power for portable computing applications, for example, and discussed a technology called "hyperthreading," which can allow one chip to act like two in some circumstances.
Intel Unveils Faster Microprocessor Chip, Pushing Rival AMD to Cut Prices Again (Aug. 28)
The company passed a milestone this week with a Pentium 4 chip operating at a clock speed of two gigahertz. At a gathering of developers in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, Intel demonstrated a prototype chip running at 3.5 gigahertz and predicted that the Pentium 4 line will eventually hit 10 gigahertz.
But Intel executives said it needs to go beyond that measure, which relates to the timing pulses inside a chip and is just one component in computing performance. "Gigahertz are necessary for evolution and improvement in computing but they're not sufficient," said Paul Otellini, an executive vice president and general manager of Intel's architecture group.
AMD, which trails Intel in clock speed, plans to launch a marketing campaign that is designed to tout the company's Athlon chips' high-performance design. Although its fastest chip now operates at just 1.4 gigahertz, some benchmark tests indicate that Athlon chips at that clock speed can outperform an Intel Pentium 4 running at 1.7 gigahertz. The marketing campaign will begin in the fourth quarter, AMD officials said.
Intel, which has been battling AMD with both price cuts as well as faster chips, is also set to launch a new advertising program in the fall, people familiar with the matter said. |
