Actually, being publicly traded companies, Intel and AMD pretty much have to divulge everything. If you look hard enough, you can exact details on pretty much everything. Looking at SEC filings is a good way to do that. We know exactly what each company is doing. Intel is charging more for their processors to make more money, clear and simple. Intel makes 50% more profit on its products than AMD does. That's a huge difference. Pentium III's don't need to be 50% more than Athlons, but they are because Intel knows that they can charge more and sell them, because the average PC buyer doesn't know squat about computers. Business alliances with major PC manufacturers ensures that they keep the edge. Pretty much until the Athlon, Intel was the best choice. This idea remains in the PC industry, even though it is not true anymore. Only until recently have all PC makers begun using AMD chips. I think Compaq is the only one left that isn't (obviously because of a deal with Intel). NEC just announced they will use AMD chips in their European business market. It is very possible that one of the reasons Intel is in the trouble that it's in is because of AMD nipping at its heels, and PC makers really seeing that they have more than one choice when it comes to building quality PCs. We have to wait and see until Intel and AMD both release their quarterly earnings reports. Intel is obviously doing bad, with a 25% decrease in revenue over last quarter. If AMD posts the same trend, then Intels troubles are probably because of a slowing PC industry. If not, which was the case last quarter, the trend shows AMD gaining big ground on Intel, stealing more and more market share.
We can tell AMD is not overcharging for their processors. A 20% profit margin is fairly standard in todays business. In my company, I put a 50% markup over the physical cost of the goods I manufacture. After all total costs (advertising, processing, etc.), my profit margin is somewhere around 20%-25%. Even if both are overpriced, Intel's would still be far more overpriced than AMD's would be...
AMD is no longer in the value sengment. Instead, it seems like AMD is merging the value and performance segments together, by bringing excellent performance at great prices. And, it seems to be working.
"We put the <i>fun</i> back into fundamentalist dogma!"