AMD's Aiming For Tech Leadership
BY JAMES DETAR
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
investors.com
No. 2 PC chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices
Inc. (AMD) for years has followed — has had to
follow — the technology lead of bigger rival
Intel Corp. (INTC) Now, for once, it doesn't
have to.
AMD has created a technology that Intel, and
everyone else, might have to follow.
"In the past, AMD was not thought of as a
technology innovator. That's changed
dramatically," said Nathan Brookwood,
principal analyst at Insight64 in Saratoga,
Calif.
AMD has developed a faster way for chips used
in network gear and high-speed computers to
"talk" to one another. It's called the
HyperTransport bus. Analysts say it looks likely
to be an accepted standard.
"We needed a new strategy for high-end PCs
and network servers," said Gabriele Sartori,
director of technology evangelism for AMD.
"HyperTransport is going to be better than
anything the industry has seen so far."
A bus is a group of software and circuits that
let chips inside a computer talk to each other.
A bus also can connect a computer to outside
devices, such as keyboards and monitors.
HyperTransport can carry more data than most
of today's chip buses, and carry them faster.
Perhaps most important, it's available now,
whereas its rivals are just coming out.
It's touted as a replacement in high-end gear
for the PCI bus Intel unveiled in 1992. That's
still the most commonly used bus in all
computers.
The New Standard?
Some analysts say HyperTransport likely will
become the standard for network gear,
including servers, routers and switches, as well
as workstations. Using HyperTransport, the
devices will be able to transmit data faster.
Adoption of HyperTransport would give AMD a
leg up on boosting sales. Though anyone can
design HyperTransport into their chips, AMD
already has put it into its flagship Athlon
processors. As HyperTransport spreads, Athlon
sales could rise.
In the late 1990s, AMD and a small Concord,
Mass., company called API NetWorks Inc.
co-developed the HyperTransport bus.
But the new bus faced a big hurdle: PC makers
didn't want it. They didn't want the time and
expense it would take to convert from the PCI
standard.
That gave rival Intel a chance to catch up. To
an extent, it did.
Intel is rolling out a new version of PCI called
3GIO, which stands for third generation
input-output. In August, 22 companies pledged
to use 3GIO, which Intel said it would release
early in 2002.
These companies included Dell Computer Corp.
(DELL), Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ), IBM
Corp. (IBM) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
Even AMD has thrown its support behind 3GIO,
averting a possible PC standards war with
Intel.
But it looks like AMD and Intel will battle in
bus standards for high-end computing. Network
gear makers need to keep up with the rapidly
growing Internet. To do that, many say, they
need HyperTransport.
Intel Vice President Louis Burns, though,
predicts that yet another new type of bus,
called Infiniband, will catch on at the higher
end in servers and workstations. Infiniband is
a HyperTransport rival developed by seven chip
and PC companies, including Intel.
Burns says Infiniband will soon be available.
"IBM announced an Infiniband product 30 days
ago," he pointed out.
Some companies, such as Sun Microsystems
Inc., are hedging their bets. They're in both
the Infiniband and HyperTransport groups.
Networking Skills
Expect to see a lot of new Net gear coming out
with HyperTransport early this year, says
Linley Gwennap of the Linley Group in
Mountain View, Calif.
"HyperTransport will be used a lot in
networks," Gwennap said. "It's being picked up
quickly there. They need it today. And PCI just
doesn't supply enough bandwidth."
AMD formed the HyperTransport Technology
Consortium in July to push the standard. AMD's
Sartori is president.
Some companies using it, or planning to use it,
include Sun (SUNW), Cisco Systems Inc.
(CSCO), Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) and Nokia
Corp. (NOK)
Another sign that HyperTransport could
become the dominant high-end bus standard is
that other chipmakers are using it. They
include Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Broadcom Corp.
(BRCM) and PMC-Sierra Inc. (PMCS)
The HyperTransport code is available to any
company that wants to license it for free from
the consortium.
At a meeting next week, the HyperTransport
consortium will name several new members,
says a spokesman. That will bring the total
roster to 30.
PMC-Sierra got behind the standard a year ago,
says Thomas Riordan, a company vice
president. "We've given our input," he said,
"and we've been actively promoting it with our
customers."
One of those customers is Cisco Systems, the
biggest network gear maker. Riordan says
PMC-Sierra has been selling chips to Cisco for
a decade.
"They asked us to put HyperTransport on our
processors" so they could continue to ramp up
the speed of their Net gear, Riordan said. |
