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Technology Stocks : Advanced Micro Devices - Moderated (AMD)
AMD 252.66-2.7%1:54 PM EST
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To: jackthetab who wrote (262546)11/12/2009 11:40:06 PM
From: fastpathguruRead Replies (2) of 275872
 
Doesn't answer the question of what's the viable and profitable (low cost) alternative.

Perhaps the benefit is flexibility.

Like I posted about Bobcat earlier, from yesterday's slides:

*Very low power design
– Sub one-watt capable
* 90% of today’s mainstream performance in less than half of the silicon area
* Synthesizable / Easy to Reuse
* Complete ISA support
– SSE1-3 and virtualization

The design is done. It can be ported easily to any foundry's current or future process. It can be combined by AMD w/3rd party IP.

AMD doesn't have to dedicate capacity from a bleeding-edge fab to pump out as many as they want; they only need the bleeding-edge capacity for the boutique designs.

Before, mass-market vs. boutique designs were essentially competing for limited capacity within AMD's expensive high-end fab... I.e. non-optimal capacity utilization. (Chartered added only token capacity, being limited to 20% and running tweaked designs that required SOI.)

Now, mass-market and/or customized x86 chips can be pumped out ad infinitum, without competing for the same capacity that will produce the boutique designs.

That's a decidedly non-trivial gain, from my perspective.

fpg
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