AMD Restructuring: What You Need To Know

[WatchingUser]

Isn't it interesting Intel has been very involved with AMD lately? Freesync support and raptr distributing its drivers as well.

 

[photonboy]

Isn't it interesting Intel has been very involved with AMD lately? Freesync support and raptr distributing its drivers as well.

They've been involved with AMD for years.

What's fascinating about Intel and FreeSync?

Intel has iGPU's so they want to support asynchronous monitors (though current iGPU's apparently aren't capable).

 

[peptobelly]

I wonder why AMD can not allow third parties to modify their chips like ARM does. I poised the same Question on a different forum and someone replied saying that because Intel hold the deeds to x86 amd can not do something like that. Is that true? If so Too bad because this would allow amd to focus solely on the r&d aspect of their chips or even gain new ideas without heavy investment on their part. Also now would be a perfect time for more competitio to enter into the X86 market, which is why I am perplexed as to why IBM does not re-enter the X86 market unless the before mentioned statement is true. Again too bed because IBM is one of the few companies that can beat intel at its own game. Sure ibm sold their laptops to china but on a chip for chip competion, IBM can compete for sure.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I wonder why AMD can not allow third parties to modify their chips like ARM does. I poised the same Question on a different forum and someone replied saying that because Intel hold the deeds to x86 amd can not do something like that. Is that true? If so Too bad because this would allow amd to focus solely on the r&d aspect of their chips or even gain new ideas without heavy investment on their part. Also now would be a perfect time for more competitio to enter into the X86 market, which is why I am perplexed as to why IBM does not re-enter the X86 market unless the before mentioned statement is true. Again too bed because IBM is one of the few companies that can beat intel at its own game. Sure ibm sold their laptops to china but on a chip for chip competion, IBM can compete for sure.

IBM was never in the x86 market, they contracted Intel and AMD to design CPUs for their desktops.

IBM still makes the PowerPC CPU but it is a HPC oriented design and not as fit for desktop use.

Intel was the one who developed the x86 design, the first was the Intel 8086, and has licensed the use to Amd. Via also holds a license to develop x86 but does not use it. Cyrix but Cyrix went defunct and merged with National Semiconduictor.

AMD is unable to allow companies to use their x86 design as they don't hold the patent for it, Intel does. They have a cross license agreement with Intel which allows them both to utilize each others technologies but not to be sold by the other.

 

[somebodyspecial]

No one believes AMD is going to go under as soon as next week. But OP you were provided a statement that was probably written initially for shareholders. If you can't see the obvious that most the readers here can see I'll clue you in, AMD is in trouble.

"AMD was in talks to sell roughly 25% of itself to Silver Lake Management, but that negotiations are currently on-hold due to differences in strategy and overall cost, Bloomberg reports. AMD has good reason to push for as high a price as it can get, seeing as the company’s future largely depends on securing a lifeline until the launch of Zen, its next-generation CPU architecture that’s not expected until 2016. AMD wasn’t willing to comment on the current specifics of its situation, and neither was Silver Lake, for obvious reasons."

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/215353-amd-talks-with-private-equity-firm-silver-lake-fell-through-report

To add more damage, ZEN is now not expected until LATE 2016 (nov/dec) with mass production in Q1 2017! They pulled the gpu in first (mistake IMHO, can make more from a WINNING cpu with large die that smokes Intel cpu+gpu), and pushed the cpu. Their next gpu won't be much different than NV gpu, so there will be no pricing power there. A wiser move would have been to go next CPU first (if HUGE die compared to cpu side of Intels current stuff) and blow Intel's cpu side away, thereby giving you massive margins again (as in pricing HIGHER than each Intel part). Intel can't price you to death with a loser, but both NV and Intel can price to death a chip that is equal to their own until they produce their next winner. If AMD went with a HUGE cpu die, it would be a while before Intel could do anything to win. Their only option would be slapping two dies together for 8 cores which would be basically 9590 size/watts (think 200w 8 core Intel vs. a Zen 85-95w quad). If AMD goes huge on cpu and puts it off until 2017 (mass production for profit), Intel might be close enough to not matter with say 2x10nm chips together cutting watts/heat.

Hopefully some good news for AMD soon, but I don't see pushing up the gpu making them money. NV can just price their cards at break even until AMD gets weaker, to save share if their next card is pretty good. The only easy win here was BIG cpu die (with no gpu, which ZEN is) and forcing Intel to go back to the drawing board for a few years. AMD would have walked in Intel's quad shoes for a bit, while Intel walked in AMD's octo core shoes for a while (we know how that turns out...225, losing all games since most use 4 tops etc). Oh well. I hope ZEN is at least HUGE if it's late anyway. They don't need a tie, it need to WIN a LOT of stuff (like 9/12 games, some major apps etc) or AMD's chances of making it into 2018 are shaky as they only have enough cash to make it probably in mid 2017 without needing profits at some point here. They don't have much more that they can sell or many people left to lay off without just completely devastating their products (which you could say has already happened, dominant in nothing now, losing cash fast).

 

[somebodyspecial]

Unfotunatly, people have TO HIGH expectations from AMD ("omg, Zen needs to be better than SkyLake, or else...").
AMD does not have the FINANCIAL POWER to beat Intel or Nvidia, it is simple as that. Not even in the glory day of Athlon 64, when AMD washed the floor with Intel performance wise, they didnt even come close in market share or sales.
i am giving the example of my country (witch probably is small ), but in every public institution, every school, every private company's office is equiped with INTEL based PC's, i havent interacted in the private sector nor public with an AMD based SERVER, NONE (and it is my job). Intel, at this moment has monopoly in one way ot the other.
For me it is simple to make o decision for AMD. Make up your freakin mind AMD, do you want to compete with nVidia or with intel? YOU CAN'T WITH BOTH, you will LOSE!

They only thing that kept AMD from taking more share back in A64 days was the fact that they were constrained on production. They literally couldn't make more than about 20% of the market's needs. That would not be the case if they make a monster quad today, where they can use both TSMC and GF, and possibly samsung (since they can tool up anything from GF as they both share). They could take FAR more this time if they chose a BIG die (much larger than Intel's cpu side, or say the exact size of intel cpu+gpu size) and use both places to produce chips that can MAKE MARGINS like crazy. Intel was also not helping back then by threatening every PC maker to not use AMD, board makers to not make AMD boards etc. Again, not an issue so much today. Intel would have to slap two cpus together to compete and it would use massive watts/heat (like AMD's 225w chip now that is 8 core). This is their last chance to pull a 1999-2001 again... I really hope they did not make ZEN the size of Intel's CPU ONLY side. It should be MUCH bigger and as near to their cpu+gpu as possible to literally make Intel come up with a new QUAD sans gpu that can catch it (years). But management at AMD is so dumb, I'm guessing they went the same as Intel cpu side or smaller. Dirk would have went the size of Intel's ENTIRE cpu+gpu and produced a winner. He was correct in 2011 when they booted him, you need a KING to win before branching elsewhere (custom crap, mobile etc). The king makes profits to pay for the other crap (see Intel/NV strategy). Funny they now go back to his strategy (quad no gpu) but the only question is, HOW BIG is the quad? I HOPE BIG!