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

To: Xpiderman who wrote (30113)	3/23/1998 7:30:00 PM
From: Investor A	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575427

Xy Zhao, Don't believe what all you read! When K6+3D (32K L1 + 256K L2) coupling with 2MB L3 cache on VIA MVP3 100Mhz board, it would have far superior architecture and performance over Intel SLOT1 or SLOT2. SLOT A is just a smoke from AMD. With 3 levels of cache, K6+3D will be faster than PII on the same clock speed. You have to pray day and night that AMD fails. Otherwise, you might wake up and find INTC at low 20s in the morning. It is the time to clear your INTC position and run away from it for good!!

To: Xpiderman who wrote (30113)	3/23/1998 10:16:00 PM
From: Profits	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575427

Xy, Read this..... AMD is eating Intel's Lunch! Profits Monday March 23, 8:11 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release SOURCE: Money Talks Money Talks: Is Advanced Micro Devices Eating Intel's Lunch? NEW YORK, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Instead of a turkey for every pot, today's rage seems to be a computer for every home. In the ''Shaking the Money Tree'' column this week, Bob Metz, editor of Money Talks (www.talks.com) and founder of The New York Times Market Place column, discusses how the growth in demand for PC's influences microprocessor companies like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). As demand increases for PC's, the less expensive AMD chips may be overtaking the market, since its K6 microprocessors have won steady acceptance in computers priced below $2,000 and especially those priced below $1,000. Intel has reacted to this growth in the personal computer market by shifting production to mainframes and to computer servers, since it needs chip prices to be more than $250 in order to thrive in the PC market. Per Metz, leading Intel analyst at Merrill Lynch, Tom Kurlak, has been cautious on Intel since August, due to the fact that microprocessor chip conditions are deteriorating. Although AMD has recently reported losses, does it have the power to significantly decrease Intel's market share? Shaking the Money Tree column is posted each Monday evening, at which time the previous week's column can be found in the Money Talks' archives. Money Talks is a free e-zine that features original daily commentary from leading financial journalists, many of whom developed expertise and contacts at the New York Times and/or Wall Street Journal. This all-star financial line-up offers savvy insight on the equities marketplace, mutual funds, personal finance, biotech, the retail industry, interactive technology, financial issues for twenty-somethings, the economy and more. Designed to help individuals make better investment decisions, Money Talks' editorial is complemented by access to interactive tools and databases, including quotes, charts, a portfolio tracker, earnings analysis, news and an extensive IPO section. SOURCE: Money Talks

To: Xpiderman who wrote (30113)	3/23/1998 10:20:00 PM
From: Profits	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575427

Xy, And the world takes notice! Profits FINALLY, SOME COMPETITION AMD and others are making a legitimate run at Intel. By Luc Hatlestad The chip wars are over, right? Intel won. End of story. Not so fast. Led by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), second-string x86-based semiconductor makers like Cyrix and Centaur have recently scored partnership deals that suddenly make Intel seem vulnerable--if only slightly. AMD announced in January that Compaq Computer will use AMD processors in all of its sub-$1,200 consumer desktop PCs and that IBM's Aptiva systems will run on AMD's 233-MHz and 266-MHz K6 chips. Meanwhile, Cyrix, which recently merged with National Semiconductor, is supplying chips to Compaq for use in some Presario notebook PCs, and Centaur, a subsidiary of Integrated Device Technology, is marketing an x86 clone for sub-$2,000 multimedia notebooks. An AMD spokesman attributes the Compaq and IBM deals to the low prices of AMD's K6 chips, a crucial factor in a PC market with constantly shrinking margins. "We're offering a very compelling value proposition because our chips are 25 percent cheaper than comparable Pentiums," he says. Linley Gwennap, the editor of Microprocessor Report, adds that the K6 is "a good chip, solid all around" and says Compaq has been itching to move away from Intel because of ongoing disputes between the two over PC branding. "Compaq has been begging to use something other than Intel for a while, because it wants to brand its computers with 'Compaq' rather than 'Intel Inside,'" he says. "This deal is a sign from Compaq that it believes AMD has left its production problems behind." Those problems were a primary cause of AMD's net losses of $31.7 million and $12.3 million in the last two quarters of 1997. On the bright side, the latter number beat analysts' projections for the fourth quarter, during which the company met its goal of producing 1.5 million K6 chips. The increase to 15 million chips annually--the approximate number Compaq and IBM will use in their machines--is to be made possible by AMD's move from 0.35-micron manufacturing processes to 0.25-micron processes. The measurements refer to the distance between transistors on a chip, and switching to 0.25 micron means AMD will get up to 340 usable chips per 8-inch wafer instead of the current 180 yielded at 0.35 micron. Also, production will be boosted by AMD's new manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany, scheduled to open in 1999. Intel may still be at the helm of the semiconductor ship, but AMD's recent wins are a challenge to that position.

To: Xpiderman who wrote (30113)	3/23/1998 10:25:00 PM
From: Profits	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575427

Xy, Is Intel caught off guard by the AMD onslaught? Maybe they haven't been paranoid enough? Looks like some very promising news coming out of CeBIT in Germany. Maybe the veil of silence has been lifted. Better jump on that AMD bandwagon. Profits AMD to Pit K6 Against Intel's Celeron By Aaron Ricadela Hannover, Germany 12:00 p.m. EST Mon., March 23, 1998 In a disclosure that appears to have caught Intel off guard, Advanced Micro Devices said it plans to position its K6 processors directly against Celeron, Intel's forthcoming low-end chip, this spring. As PC vendors start shipping machines based on AMD's K6 3D processor in late May, AMD will begin positioning its current generation of K6 chips as a consumer alternative to Celeron, said Robert Stead, AMD's European marketing manager, at the CeBIT '98 trade show here Friday. Stead said as AMD builds up U.S. production of its enhanced 3-D processors this spring and summer, the company will price its "K6 classic" chips so manufacturers can deliver PCs starting at $800. Indications are that AMD's K6 lineup will begin at 233MHz in Q2. "We'll maintain our competitive position against Pentium II [with K6 3D] .... and we'll position the K6 classic directly against the Celeron in the market below $1,000," Stead said. The strategy would apply pricing pressure on Intel. The first shipments of Intel's Celeron, a processor based on Pentium II architecture (but without a level-two cache), are expected in mid-April at 266MHz. Intel has lost retail market share to AMD, mainly because its Pentium line has no chip for sub-$1,000 computers. AMD held 40 percent unit share of the U.S. retail desktop market in January, according to PC Data, Reston, Va. An Intel executive reacted to Stead's statement with surprise. "The positioning of K6 classic has always been against Pentium with MMX," said Gordon Graylish, director of Intel architecture marketing for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. "I haven't heard that before." Intel plans to price Celeron so vendors can offer PCs at $999 to $1,200, Graylish said. Celeron's P-II board architecture would deliver better performance at those price points, he added. "The advantage of Celeron is we're designing a product using today's technology. ... The difference between the high end and the low end isn't that the low end wants [the high end of] two years ago," he said.

To: Xpiderman who wrote (30113)	3/23/1998 10:31:00 PM
From: Profits	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575427

Xy, And yet another press release from AMD. This looks like great news for AMD and very very bad news for Intel. I wouldn't be surprised if the Intel Stock took a big dump on this news. AMD significantly ramping production. 300MHz production. 15 million processors in 1998. Gee.... I wonder if they've solved that nagging yield problem? Profits CeBIT News AMD to Introduce 3D Processor in May By Aaron Ricadela Hannover, Germany 12:00 p.m. EST Mon., March 23, 1998 Advanced Micro Devices will debut its K6 3D processor in May inside PCs priced from $1,300 to $1,700 and configured for games, said company representatives attending the CeBIT Hannover Fair. AMD's second-tier vendors will be first to market at the official launch on May 27, and Compaq, IBM and Acer will follow within weeks in the United States, said AMD's European marketing manager, Robert Stead. AMD's new chip, tentatively called K6 3D, but likely to launch under a different name, will initially appear in 266MHz and 300MHz versions, said Stead. The processor adds 24 instructions designed to enhance multimedia performance to the company's K6 processor. According to Stead, AMD will position K6 3D against Pentium II as offering a richer configuration at comparable price points. Exploiting K6 3D's promise of fast, smooth graphics on processor-intensive applications like games and DVD playback, AMD is encouraging vendors to bundle 3-D graphics accelerators, games and DVD-ROM drives with PCs featuring the chip. K6 3D delivers its best performance when used in conjunction with a 3-D graphics accelerator, Stead said, and a 100MHz bus adds about 15 percent better performance than AMD's "classic" K6 delivers. As reported by CRWi, AMD plans to position the classic K6 chip against Intel's Celeron processor this spring. AMD's vendors will price PCs using the 266MHz K6 3D from $1,300 to $1,400, and PCs using the 300MHz processor from $1,500 to $1,700, according to Stead. AMD is encouraging vendors to bundle 3-D accelerators based on NVidia's Riva chip and 3Dfx Interactive's Voodoo 2 chip, he said. Some SKUs could also ship with an OEM version of the flight combat game Incoming, by English developer Rage, he said. AMD demonstrated Incoming here. The company is also pushing for a "super SKU" with 64MB. AMD has begun production of K6 3D chips, and "tens of thousands" of PCs using it in will appear in the channel at launch, Stead said. These would be from "upper tier-two" vendors, according to Stead, presumably including CTX International. PCs from Compaq, IBM, Acer (and Fujitsu in Europe) will arrive shortly thereafter. "Last year, it took them about nine months to start shipping [K6] in serious volume," he said. "This time, we'll see the heavyweight guys get there even faster." Production of the new chips will pick up steam in Q3, when AMD plans to manufacture 3.5 million K6 3D chips, followed by production of 4 million to 5 million in Q4, Stead said. By the end of the year, AMD plans to have reached production of 15 million K6 3D parts, or half its retail market processors for 1998.