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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Jackson who wrote (25989)	11/15/1997 7:28:00 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1583492

Bill - Re: "Could they not introduce test pieces(smaller/cheaper, but worked on just the same to vary a parameter fro that piece only?) here and there in the run, and glean feedback from them" You are probably referring to test structures which can be used on short-loop experiments to check out various process steps - I would certainly hope AMD is doing this. If not, they would be the only semiconductor manufacturer not to use this technique. AMD can't be that naive so I assume they are actively making use of these techniques. Re: "..You mean that AMD is acting like Goebbels, with the "big lie", concealing the potential fact that there are no buyers " Ahh.. my old buddy Goebbels! Concealing the big lie? AMD has used this technique more than once. I refer you to AMD's May 1995 announcement that the already late K5 would be delayed for "testing" purposes. That fooled nobody. The part was too slow and then AMD admiited they would have to shrink the K5 from a 0.5 micron process to a 0.35 micron process to get the speed improved. Five months later AMD removed all doubt about their diffculties and announced that they were going to buy NexGEN and trash their internal K6 (not to be confused with the NexGEN designed K6 shipping today) development. More recently, re-read the September 3, 1997 press release from Sanders describing an upcoming "minor" loss in Q3 due to a yield problem on the K6. The yield problems were pretty much resolved and AMD was then (According to AMD) producing up to 150,000 K6/week. The minor loss turned out top be $67,000,000 (before a tax credit). Now do the math - 150,000 x 13 (Weeks/quarter) = 1.95 million K6's/quarter. Well, on November 6, AMD announced that they were not going to meet their new goal of 2 million K6's shipped in Q4 - and I don't think they were talking about missing that goal by just 50,000 K6's! Paul

To: Bill Jackson who wrote (25989)	11/15/1997 7:31:00 PM
From: Xpiderman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1583492

Pentium II Floods Microprocessor Market Pentium II chip prices are dropping fast. Meanwhile, Intel is preparing to bring out even faster Pentium II processors early next year. An ample supply of Intel Pentium II processors - especially Pentium II chips running at 233 MHZ and 266 MHZ - has led to unprecedented prices for high-end systems from both major manufacturers and second-tier vendors. Officially, the 233-MHZ Pentium II sells for $401 in quantities of 1,000. The 266-MHZ model sells for $530 and the 300-MHZ version sells for $738 in quantities of 1,000. CompUSA, for instance, is currently advertising an American Pro (CompUSA's house brand computer) with a 266-MHZ Pentium II, 32MB of memory, a 3.5GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive, and a 14-inch monitor for only $1,999. NEC Computer Systems is offering a PowerMate Pro with a 300-MHZ Pentium II that sells for $2,358. The PowerMate Pro266 comes with a 266-MHZ Pentium II, 32MB of memory, a 4.3GB, and 15-inch monitor for $2,299. A PowerMate ENT, one step lower on the NEC food chain, with a 233-MHZ Pentium II, 32MB of memory, and no monitor, sells for $1,749. Online retailer CDW is offering a Compaq Deskpro 2000 with a 233-MHZ Pentium II processor, 32MB of memory, and a 2.1MB hard drive for $1,599 without monitor. A Deskpro 2000 with a 266-MHZ Pentium II, 32MB of memory, and a 3.2MB hard drive goes for $2,057. An IBM PC 300XL with a 266-MHZ Pentium II sells for $2,046. In February, Intel will unveil the 400-MHZ Pentium II for a price of $998. The 233-MHZ Pentium II will sell for $300, a 25 percent drop from its current price of $401. The 266-MHZ version of the chip will drop to $401 from its current price of $530, a 25 percent discount. The 300-MHZ version will drop from $738 to $562, a 23 percent discount. Analyst pointed out that Advanced Micro Devices is still having difficulties producing 233-MHZ chips due to poor product yield. Computer vendors get discounts when buying in larger volumes; a computer maker buying thousands or hundreds of thousands of chips will likely pay less for chips than the prices stated above. These prices may also be coming as a result of cost savings resulting from "build-to-order" strategies. Under build to order manufacturing, costs, especially costs associated with short term credit, get cut because manufacturers don't have to carry much inventory. Compaq, CompUSA, and NEC unveiled build-to-order strategies earlier this year. With new build-to-order model, computer vendors buy fewer chips up front but need parts continuously arrive "just-on-time". Chip makers, like Intel, with substantial production capacity and sustainable product availability will fit better in today's "Warp" speed environment.