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

To: Kevin K. Spurway who wrote (41160)	11/10/1998 1:45:00 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1571020

Kevin - Re: " Paul, show me your AMD source from over a year ago that says Sharpy will ship in 2H'98." Here it is Kevin - right from the Head Honcho himself: news.com Sanders wants to keep Intel honest By Michael Kanellos October 14, 1997, 12:05 p.m. PT SAN JOSE, California--Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is the last hope for microprocessor competition, according to the company's chief executive officer. In his keynote speech at the Microprocessor Forum today in San Jose, California, AMD CEO Jerry Sanders told the audience that chip giant Intel has, and will continue, to keep microprocessor prices artificially high unless realistic competition can be brought to bear against the company. He added that only AMD, even with its current problems, fits the role of a competitor. "In the absence of open competition, consumers will pay a monopolistic tax," said Sanders. "AMD is here to cut our taxes. It's the only player with a realistic opportunity to lead the way for an alternative Windows platform for computing." Decked out in a Versace tie and various pieces of heavy gold jewelry, Sanders all but accused Intel of price gouging. Holding up a chart plotting Intel processor prices this year, Sanders said a direct correlation could be made between the price of Intel processors and the release of AMD's K6. The chart showed Intel prices on Pentium MMX and Pentium chips dropping drastically with the release of the K6 in April. By contrast, the Pentium Pro, a server chip that AMD does not compete against, has stayed relatively stagnant. "It is clear that competition from AMD has driven Intel to drive new technology innovations and to drive innovations earlier," he added. "Since the release of the K6, prices have come down more sharply in an Intel offering than ever before." Sanders also for the first time spoke publicly about the information the Federal Trade Commission is seeking in its investigation of Intel. Specifically, he said the agency wants information on whether Intel uses its dominant market position to force computer vendors "not to work with alternative vendors," whether Intel "manipulates technology standards," and whether Intel makes partners sign "nondisclosure agreements that are so unduly onerous that they have the effect of hindering competition." Intel aside, Sanders conceded that AMD has to improve its manufacturing and operations as well as seal more deals with major PC vendors. Pointing to another graphic, the CEO showed how AMD has gone from a 30 percent market share in 1992 to an approximate 10 percent share this year. To become a credible alternative again, the company will have to achieve a 30 percent market share by 2001, Sanders noted. AMD's comeback will largely depend on the upgraded microprocessor described at the convention. Under a road map laid out today, AMD will release a version of the K6 using the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) before the end of the year as well as logic chipsets that will allow the processor to take advantage of AGP. Then, in first half of 1998, AMD will release a new version of the chip called the K6-3D, a new version of the chip with a new instruction set for processing 3D graphics. The company will license this technology to other providers. (See related story) The K6 3D also will contain a 100-MHz system bus and a separate bus for the "Level 2" (L2) cache. Speeding up the bus and adding a separate, second bus will improve overall processor performance. Processor speeds on this version of the K6 will likely rise to 350 MHz. In the second half of the year, the company will release a K6+3D chip that will run at 400 MHz and higher and contain 256K L2 cache memory on the chip. The chip will also support an optional bus for L3 memory cache. At the fall Comdex show in November 1998, AMD will preview the K7, a new chip generation that will emulate the "Slot 1" architecture of the Pentium II. But the K7 will have a completely different data "bus" architecture than the Pentium II's Slot 1: the "Alpha" or EV6 bus from Digital Equipment. The K7 chip will run at more than 500 MHz, according to the company. Although Intel has already released a "Slot 2" configuration, it is now indicating that the company will continue to use Slot 1 designs for desktops. Bob Cowell, an Intel fellow, said, "Slot 1 and Slot 2 are not successors. They are complementary. They represent the bifurcation of the market. They address different market segments." Slot 2, he added, is for high-end workstations and servers. In the meantime, AMD will have to continue to engage in price competition. By next year, the 233-MHz K6, the highest level of the chip made, will be in machines costing from $1,000 to $1,200. Intel is an investor in CNET: The Computer Network. related news stories {============================} Paul

To: Kevin K. Spurway who wrote (41160)	11/10/1998 1:51:00 PM
From: Paul Engel	Respond to of 1571020

Kevin - Re: "When can I order my Dixon?" According to this report, you may be able to get a Dixon CPU in a notebook in January or February of next year. I'm sure you will love it, and take pride in knowing you bought the BEST ! Paul {==========================} infoworld.com New Intel chips to drive notebook prices down in 1999 By Andy Santoni and Ephraim Schwartz InfoWorld Electric Posted at 4:47 AM PT, Sep 12, 1998 Notebook buyers in 1999 will gain more choices, higher performance, and lower prices as Intel introduces new Pentium II, Celeron, and even Pentium MMX mobile CPUs. Although the Pentium processor will be gone from the desktop side of Intel's price list by June 1999, the company will unveil a mobile Pentium MMX running at 300 MHz. "There are people out there who still like the Pentium," said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Dataquest, in San Jose, Calif. The specific application for a 300-MHz mobile Pentium CPU is a mininotebook PC, he added. According to the Intel processor road map, mobile versions of the Celeron processor with integrated 128KB Level 2 (L2) cache -- the "Mendocino" CPU -- will also be introduced by midyear 1999. These CPUs target the "basic mobile PC," offering significantly slower clock speeds than Pentium II mobile processors, according to Intel officials. These chips aim to meet the demand for lower-cost notebooks, industry observers said. Notebook suppliers realize that the less-than-$1,000 desktop PC has hurt their business because the price delta is too large. They have been looking at building three-spindle notebooks with entry-level technology at the lowest cost they possibly can get. "Definitely, notebook prices will be close to $1,000 by early next year," said Katrina Dahlquist, a mobile computing analyst at International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass. One of the top 10 notebook manufacturers will be working with a Taiwanese OEM to introduce this fall a $999 entry-level notebook with a 12.1-inch dual-scan screen, 1.6MB hard drive, and 16MB of RAM, sources said. In the first half of 1999, Intel will boost notebook performance with a 333-MHz version of the Pentium II mobile CPU, according to Intel's road map. That could be the Dixon processor, a Pentium II with 256KB of integrated L2 cache, according to Brookwood. The Dixon processor, which may be available as early as January or February, will be offered in the existing minicartridge and Mobile Module form factors, as well as in a ball-grid array package for direct attachment to a notebook motherboard, Brookwood said. As with the latest, 300-MHz notebook chip, this CPU will be offered on Mobile Modules with or without an additional connector for the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), Brookwood noted. AGP support in mobiles is especially interesting in sales-force automation applications, enabling highly animated presentations, said Tom Scott, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at AST Computer, in Irvine, Calif. Mobile processors will gain another boost in performance in the latter half of 1999 with the introduction of Coppermine, a Pentium II chip with Katmai New Instructions graphics extensions. The processor will be built using Intel's new 0.18-micron manufacturing technology. Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, Calif., can be reached at (800) 628-8686 or intel.com. Andy Santoni is a senior writer for InfoWorld and Ephraim Schwartz is an editor at large. Go to the Week's Top News Stories Please direct your comments to InfoWorld Deputy News Editor, Carolyn April Copyright © 1998 InfoWorld Media Group Inc. InfoWorld Electric is a member of IDG.net