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

To: Matt Webster who wrote (32990)	5/28/1998 6:56:00 PM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1570342

I can only agree with about barely half of what you say. The K6-2 doesn't have the raw FPU power of the Pentium II but it does kick the Celerons b*tt. Also, remember that the die size of a K6-2 is about 80mm2. K6 is 68 mm2. Will AMD dump the mid range and concentrate on the high end where margins are high? I doubt it so why speculate on it. Jerry has a passion for Intel. Also at this point what chip do they go after the high end with? As far as farming out all the FAB work Cyrix has proved that doesn't work...you lose too much control and time. The 100 MHz bus speed RAM is a joke when it comes to a Pentium II. What do you gain, 1% maybe? On the other hand the 100 MHz bus is a real friend to the socket 7 processors like the K6. As a corporate buyer I can see where you are coming from. You want a stable and compatible platform. A Pentium II system at 66 MHz bus will suit you well. But a K6 or Cyrix would too but you just won't take the chance. A celeron makes little sense except if you have to go Intel and want the lowest price point. Probably why most of the OEM Celeron Boxes I've seen are for the corporate market...all you need really is a PentiumMMX-233 but since Intel is phasing them out you'll get the Celeron and support Intels little conversion over to Slot one which you need like a hole in the head. <G> Jim

To: Matt Webster who wrote (32990)	5/28/1998 7:35:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 1570342

New AMD chip breaks from INTC, Fujitsu, IBM will announce support for K6-2 BY TOM QUINLAN Mercury News Staff Writer Advanced Micro Devices will attempt to escape Intel Corp.'s long shadow today when it introduces a new processor ''unlike anything Intel has.'' According to analysts and sources familiar with AMD's new processors, the K6-2 chips and AMD's 3D-Now technology should provide enough power at a low enough price that AMD can start moving into the more expensive and lucrative market for multimedia PCs. The chips are impressive enough that at least two major PC manufacturers -- International Business Machines Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. -- will announce plans to use the chips in PCs on Thursday, support AMD was unable to get when it first announced the K6 line last April. AMD's ability to help create standards for the industry as a whole is also getting support from other chip manufacturers Cyrix Corp. and Integrated Device Technology Inc., who will add the additional graphics instructions to their Pentium-compatible processors. Even Microsoft Corp. has agreed to add support for AMD's 3-D graphics technology to future versions of Windows 98. ''The market ultimately decides how a processor is regarded, but these are pretty powerful chips,'' said Nathan Brookwood, a semiconductor analyst for the market research firm Dataquest Inc. If the chips prove to be as successful as AMD hopes -- and a number of observers believe -- the company will not only be in a position to charge significantly more for its new line, but also to establish itself as an innovator rather than just a company that can successfully copy Intel's technology. The cornerstone of AMD's new processors are faster speeds -- ranging from 266-MHz to 333-MHz -- and a number of enhancements designed to make the K6-2 line's multimedia performance equal to or better than that of Intel's Pentium II line. With the K6-2 line, AMD is enhancing the multimedia performance of its processor line at least nine months before Intel plans to introduce its own additions to the MMX instruction set, observers said, giving AMD a chance to eat away at Intel's overwhelming control of the higher performance segment of the PC marketplace.