Interpreting the text below may suggest AMD is not gaining market share for the moment. Maybe GTW did put a dent in the expansion plans this Q.
"AMD, which until the beginning of the third quarter had been gaining market share against Intel, is also seeking to change the way PC users think about the performance of the microprocessors that are the primary computing engines of PCs."
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AMD unveils new Athlon chips, branding campaign
October 09, 2001 6:33:00 PM ET
By Duncan Martell
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Intel Corp.'s main rival in microprocessors, on Tuesday unveiled its Athlon XP chip for desktop computers and a new branding scheme, in a bid to regain ground lost to its larger rival this year during a bitter price war.
Rather than identify the Athlon XP chips by their clock speed, which is one measure of a processor's performance, AMD has moved to model numbers. The Athlon XP will bear monikers of 1800+, 1700+, 1600+ and 1500+, with each lower model number representing a lower clock speed.
AMD, which until the beginning of the third quarter had been gaining market share against Intel, is also seeking to change the way PC users think about the performance of the microprocessors that are the primary computing engines of PCs.
AMD said it wants consumers to know that it isn't all about megahertz and gigahertz, which is rather like a chip's electronic heartbeat with gigahertz producing a quicker beat. Because the core designs of Intel's and AMD's chips are now quite different, unlike generations past, simply comparing their clock speeds isn't enough, AMD and analysts said.
"More sophisticated computer users know this isn't true," said Patrick Moorhead, an AMD executive named to the newly created position of vice president of customer advocacy, of the prevailing view that a chip's speed is a good indicator of its overall performance running various computer programs.
Clock speed refers to how many computational cycles a chip can finish in one second.
HEIGHTENED COMPARISONS
AMD's often colorful and outspoken Chairman and Chief Executive Jerry Sanders went farther in explanation.
"Consumers have historically equated megahertz with performance," Sanders said at an event in San Francisco to announce the Athlon XP and the new branding program.
Sanders said that Intel, by focusing on megahertz as the measure of a processor's performance, is doing consumers a disservice and he sought to cast his company as their ally.
The 1800+, for example, is designed to signify that it will perform at least as well as a Pentium 4 chip running at 1.8 gigahertz, AMD said. The company cited a benchmark test showing that an Athlon XP 1800+ running at 1.53 gigahertz outperforms an Intel Pentium 4 chip running at 1.8 gigahertz.
An Intel spokesman declined to comment on its principal competitor, but said, "We have the highest performing processor out there, period.
"And we've just begun," said the spokesman, Robert Manetta, who said he was not aware of the comparison benchmark test. "The architecture has lots of headroom and we expect to take it to 10 gigahertz and above."
That said, AMD, may be on to something, an analyst said.
"In terms of the gigahertz issue I certainly have to agree with AMD that the technical underpinnings of AMD's design versus Intel's Pentium 4 design make direct comparisons in terms of gigahertz of one to the other less than totally illuminating," said Insight64 analyst Nathan Brookwood.
CLOCK SPEED MATTERS WHEN YOU'RE AHEAD
Until just a few months ago, Intel (INTC) and AMD routinely swapped the title of selling the fastest microprocessor.
Now, however, Intel has a Pentium 4 chip running at 2 gigahertz available, while AMD has yet to reach the 2 gigahertz threshold.
"Of course, only the guy who's ahead (in terms of processor speed) says that gigahertz matters," Brookwood said. "When AMD was ahead, they were trumpeting that megahertz mattered."
The AMD Athlon XP 1800+ operates at a frequency of 1.53 gigahertz; the 1700+ at 1.47 gigahertz, the 1600+ at 1.40 gigahertz, and the 1500+ model runs at 1.33 gigahertz.
The prices of the Athlon XP chips also reflect the company's intent to charge based on performance, rather than clock speed, as it has historically. For instance, AMD's Athlon XP 1800+, running at 1.53 gigahertz, costs $252 in lots of 1,000. Intel's Pentium 4 chip running at 1.8 gigahertz costs $256 in lots of 1,000. REUTERS
© 2001 Reuters |
