what the HELL is AMD doing?

[Bedlam]

As a reseller myself..and computer enthusiast..I just dont really understand what AMD is trying to do with their product line right now? It seems that they are really, really, screwing up..at a time when intel is positioned to be very dominate?

Lets take a look at example 1 here shall we?

According to our sources, there will be following processor types next year:

ClawHammer 940-pin – 1MB L2 cache, dual-channel memory controller, made at 0.13 micron SOI nodes.
ClawHammer 939-pin – 1MB L2 cache, dual-channel memory controller, Cool’n’Quiet technology, made at 0.13 micron SOI nodes.
Newcastle 939-pin – 512KB L2 cache, dual-channel memory controller, Cool’n’Quiet technology, made at 0.13 micron SOI nodes.
Winchester 939-pin – 512KB L2 cache, dual-channel memory controller, Cool’n’Quiet technology, made at 90nm SOI nodes.
San Diego 939-pin – 1MB L2 cache, dual-channel memory controller, Cool’n’Quiet technology, made at 90nm SOI nodes.
ClawHammer 754-pin – 1MB L2 cache, single-channel memory controller, Cool’n’Quiet technology, made at 0.13 micron SOI nodes.
Newcastle 754-pin – 512KB L2 cache, single-channel memory controller, Cool’n’Quiet technology, made at 0.13 micron SOI nodes.
Paris 754-pin – 256KB L2 cache, single-channel memory controller, 32-bit only, made at 0.13 micron SOI nodes.
Barton 462-pin – 512KB L2 cache, 32-bit only, made at 0.13 micron nodes.

Well..they already have a Athlon 64..Athlon XP, Athlon FX, and an Opteron...lets make it really impossible for the end user to understand and have 6 different sockets on the market at one time! Great idea!!!

The Athlon 64s are kinda fucked up in their own right..

The first one to come out was a 3200+ which had the 1 meg of cache..then came a 3000+ which..you would think would mean it was just slower...but NO..it has only 512k of cache? Now..they have the 3400+ announced..which follows their standard BS...but after that...we get a 3700+ which is on an entirely different socket..and not even really in the same line of athlon 64s.

Yes..I'm an Intel fanboy..always have been. I have enjoyed the competition that AMD has brought to the table the last few years..its kept intel honest. However...the stuff they are doing right now baffles me..

We have intel producing actual chips on a 90nm process..and prescott will be out in a very short time..poised to be ready to roll in 3.4, 3.6, and 3.8GHz..right out the door...and it will work on all existing 865 and 875 motherboards..

Anyone else have an angle on this that I'm missing? I need some enlightenment maybe...I am looking at AMD as a sinking ship right now..

-Bedlam

[Mario]

I don't really believe your sources... any company wouldn't do that, no matter how stupid they are. I have found that talking to sources about new stuff, and listening to rumours is just pointless. Don't get all worked up over what a source says might happen Mike... I thought you knew that. :) Just relax, we'll see what happens...

[taikahn]

mghz smghz

[Bedlam]

Well..keep in mind that I work in the industry too..I have some pretty good sources. I cant quote them however. AMD would take away my birthday..something about NDA violations...

-Bedlam

[Brian]

I'm sure that everything will be clear once their processors hit the market. A company that large wouldn't chance confusing people like that. I switched from intel processors to AMD a couple years back and have no regrets. You can buy something comparable to the intel as far a s performance for almost half the price in some cases. Intel processors are fast, but they have to have the higher clock speeds because their pipeline is so much deeper (20 stages versus 12 for the AMD, or at least I think those are the numbers). If an intel chip makes a "prediction mistake" it means resending the data through a much longer pipeline thus taking much more time. What i'm excited about are the new 64 bit chips on the market. I think we are going to see some very cool games and such since the amount of data processed at one time is so much greater.

[forum]

I'm sure that everything will be clear once their processors hit the market. A company that large wouldn't chance confusing people like that. I switched from intel processors to AMD a couple years back and have no regrets. You can buy something comparable to the intel as far a s performance for almost half the price in some cases. Intel processors are fast, but they have to have the higher clock speeds because their pipeline is so much deeper (20 stages versus 12 for the AMD, or at least I think those are the numbers). If an intel chip makes a "prediction mistake" it means resending the data through a much longer pipeline thus taking much more time. What i'm excited about are the new 64 bit chips on the market. I think we are going to see some very cool games and such since the amount of data processed at one time is so much greater.
I have to agree with you about the pricing, but thats as far as that goes. With the new p4c the amd isn't even close to being as usable. I have a p4 2.4b laptop and it feels super slow. I think amd has a lot of work to do to catch up.

Just my opinion of course, but I don't think I could switch back to amd now.
-Brian