TechPro

Advanced Micro Devices: Can Gamers Bring This Chip Maker Back to Life?

AMD will be able to destroy Intel within the next 3 years in the notebook processor market, but only if they can get their latest chip out the door... They already have a uniq power saving feature in which they can disable the video cards completely and use the CPU for graphics when there is no load on the computer. They have also been working on a single chip that will in fact have up to 6 cores with 4 of them being for CPU and the remaining 2 be GPU cores using system memory. This allows for faster information transfer between the two components by eliminating the need for the PCI and instead using AMD's HyperTransport and 2Ghz FSB. It also allows users to upgrade Video Ram. The only problem they had had is with cooling due to the size, but with newer 65nm chips being the norm, those issues will be easier to fix. The new chip will have blazing fast performance and great power saving features. Some may argue that Intel has the "extreme graphics", but seriously no self respecting gamer is going to let the CPU do a GPU's job. ATi will have been a great purchase, but only if they can get this superchip ready to go, and then only if they make sure that they do not have a repeat of "Phenom".

AMD To Split In Two?

They cannot sell AMD to Samsung, but what about a company that has the extra cash to throw into AMD's R&D and also has an influence on the sales of that processor and the video cards thereafter.... Which company you ask? With Intel now making CPU's for it's largest competitor (Apple) I am looking forward to Microsoft placing a bid on AMD since they alreay have the license to produce the x86. This would allow Windows to do what Mac has done by being able to design a more stable operating system around one specific processor and video card type. This would in a way flip the market from Intel and nVidia dominance to AMD and ATi since it is more likely that a consumer will stick with a familiar operating system versus a brand of CPU and since AMD is designed to play nice with ATi versus nVidia, ATi cards will most likely be shown favor. Microsoft would be getting up to 3 automatic sales per PC sold, the processor, the video card, and lastly the OS.