Joey, Re: "AMD fastest chip is 2.2 (pr-rated), & its price has absolutely plummeted. Clearly, AMD is in desperation mode. Losing mkt. share as we speak with lower ASPs."
It looks like they have lowered prices to make room for some newer products, which happens all the time in this business. Nothing out of the ordinary. If they do happen to ship a 2400+ and 2600+ part by the end of the month, that's news in and of itself, since that shows an acceleration in AMD's roadmap (2600+ originally planned for Q4, according to Q&A from the last earnings conference). However, if those products ship at 2.06GHz and 2.2GHz, that represents a vast improvement in their .13u process. I was beginning to think that it would be difficult to get past 2.0GHz, yet now indications are that this is not as much of a barrier for AMD. And if that's true, then Hammer should be able to clock even higher. IMO, that's a real danger for Intel, since Hammer has been given enough IPC improvements to be a very powerful chip on its own; higher megahertz makes it even stronger. Indications are showing that Intel's .13u process tops out at about 3.2GHz. If AMD can get to within 80% of this (~2.6GHz), they should have a commanding performance lead. Q3 is going to be bad for AMD, but if they have improved their manufacturing enough to offer high speed versions of their processors, then they have a good chance of reclaiming a large amount of market share, which for AMD should mean a return to profitability in 2003, and a fabulous upside after that.
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