Intel delays 45nm QC...

[MrCommunistGen]

So it begins... stagnation is such a horrible thing. I wouldn't be surprised if Nehalem gets pushed back as well.

-mcg

 

[gpippas]

I reckon AMD has a secret plant which is producing 32nm Phenoms with Z100 stepping as we speak. I heard the process has something to do with melting babies and gutting fat people. Its got to be true I read it on the INQ/FUD.

 

[Zorg]

Much if not all of the above speculation sounds very plausible. One thing to consider, maybe Intel is giving AMD a break. They can sell their current CPUs no problem, fix any errata, deplete stocks etc. Does anyone really think that they want to drive AMD into receivership? That would throw the whole industry into turmoil. Intel doesn't want that, they want to keep AMD crippled not kill them.

Edit: aevm, I just saw your post. I think you hit the nail on the head.

@ MrsBytch: It didn't take long, did it? I'm not even going to address your post.

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

I reckon AMD has a secret plant which is producing 32nm Phenoms with Z100 stepping as we speak. I heard the process has something to do with melting babies and gutting fat people. Its got to be true I read it on the INQ/FUD.

It's kinda like Soylent Green. TLB = Tallow Lipid Butchering.

 

[zenmaster]

I wonder if this is a "Good" thing for 680i owners?

I wonder if the defect has anything to do with the issues those boards were seeing and if correcting it will make them work?

Not that I care that much since I don't have a 680i, but for those of you that do, this might be good news.

 

[winkgood]

Saw this earlier. Similar to that other link regarding the real reason for the delay.
http://www.behardware.com/news/9264/the-yorkfield-delayed.html

 

[Shadow703793]

Living proof why competition is good

 

[gpippas]

Another thing to consider is that now they have said there is a fault they can easily justify extending the delay come Feb if they still don't want to release.

 

[zenmaster]

Well, nothing has been "confirmed".

The Digitimes source tends to be reliable, but most other sources are likely spins on this one article.

 

[gpippas]

That is true Zen I forgot Intel hasn't officially said anything.

 

[parawizard]

AMD screwed up and maybe Intel got sloppy also They just don't have to admit to it cause they aren't stuck in the same time frame to compete with AMD's now delayed release.

 

[caamsa]

I will admit I didn't read all the posts so I may not be the only one who thinks this......

but.....

Have you ever heard the "saying don't kick a man when he is down". In a sports game you don't intentionally run up the score when you are already in the lead.................did you ever think that maybe this is Intells way of showing a little respect to AMD......

 

[yomamafor1]

Apparently, Dailytech thinks this story is a "conspiracy".

http://www.dailytech.com/DigiTimes+Alleges+Intel+Launch+Delay+Conspiracy+Theory/article10095.htm

Intel insiders, speaking off the record, would not comment on the specific January 20th launch parts. One employee added, "It’s a gigantic stretch and almost humorous to think [Intel] would delay products based on a rumored ongoing delays of a competitive product line announced just six days ago."

 

[zenmaster]

I doubt Intel is being "Kind".........

1) It's All FUD and it's shipping on time.
2) There is an issue and Intel is choosing to delay things...
3) Intel is delaying things to help clear old stock
4) Intel will take 2-4 weeks longer to get sufficient stock than expected to have a clean launch
5) Mobo Vendors has asked for the delay to finish BIOS updates.
6) System Vendors have asked for the delay to finish clearing stock.
........

It could be any of those ranging from "No Delay" to lots of reasons.
I don't think kindness is one.
In fact, that would open them up to ShareHolder lawsuits.

 

[gpippas]

caamsa

Just to let you know it has been said. I said it back near the beginning and its been repeated. My point was that Intel have no reason to pound AMD. If AMD were to go Intel would find itself in a monopoly which they don't want and obviously we don't want. I think there is a little professional courtesy going on. Basically like I said ealier I think Intel wants things the way they were pre K7/K8. Amd is around but not a hugely substancial threat occupying the lower/mid range market and getting nowhere near the top stuf.

 

[enewmen]

This totally sucks!
No matter what the reason!

 

[OlSkoolChopper]

It's been a rollercoster day. It's delayed. No it's not delayed. Any idea when this will all shake out and we'll know for sure what the heck Intel is doing with these Yorkys?

I WANT A Q9550!!!!

 

[coret]

I think it's all part of AMD's grand strategy ... they knew phenom was underperforming, so...

They release phenom.
Performance is low enough that Intel decide to delay their own chips due to lack of competition.
AMD use this extra time to make k11/12 with uber performance, releasing it on a possibly unprepared intel.

Probably all wrong, but it's a nice theory

 

[xx12amanxx]

I think it's all part of AMD's grand strategy ... they knew phenom was underperforming, so...

They release phenom.
Performance is low enough that Intel decide to delay their own chips due to lack of competition.
AMD use this extra time to make k11/12 with uber performance, releasing it on a possibly unprepared intel.

Probably all wrong, but it's a nice theory

Yeah with performance soo mind numbing that it places AMD 2 years ahead of Intel.

Yes they are conspiring..

 

[TechnologyCoordinator]

Intel has no sympathy for AMD. Intel would charge admission so that people could watch them kick AMD while they were gone to make it more profitable.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I doubt Intel is being "Kind".........

1) It's All FUD and it's shipping on time.
2) There is an issue and Intel is choosing to delay things...
3) Intel is delaying things to help clear old stock
4) Intel will take 2-4 weeks longer to get sufficient stock than expected to have a clean launch
5) Mobo Vendors has asked for the delay to finish BIOS updates.
6) System Vendors have asked for the delay to finish clearing stock.
........

It could be any of those ranging from "No Delay" to lots of reasons.
I don't think kindness is one.
In fact, that would open them up to ShareHolder lawsuits.

There is a possibility that there are delays for certain reasons but I doubt it is from the mobo makers since I got a BIOS update for the QX9650 before it was released. About a week before it came out to be exact. Intel seends them the microcode I would say at least a month in advance if not more so they can update the BIOS to support it.

It is possibly Intel is doing it due to no competition as they don't want a monopoly as that will cause them and the "shareholders" more troubles than a delayed launch. Could possibly be a issue but I doubt it as the QX9650 and all the quad cores and dual cores are based off of the same process plus I doubt Intel would not publish the errata as it would be beneficial to other products they and other companies make.

All we can do now is wait and see. Intel will announce it if it is true but we only have a month left and I doubt they will wait until the launch date to tell us.

 

[yomamafor1]

Intel has no sympathy for AMD. Intel would charge admission so that people could watch them kick AMD while they were gone to make it more profitable.

You have to admit though, Intel's a company, and they're running a business, not charity. If Intel has the chance, it would crush AMD, then monopolize the market, just like M$.

 

[drcroubie]

Well there's 3 ways to look at this situation.
1 - Intel are doing it for themselves, to make more people buy the 65nm parts and clear inventories before they chuck out _yet_another_ cpu lineup.

2 - Intel are actually being nice (if not only for their own sake). if AMD goes under, Intel have the monopoly and may face a forced-split, or at least more evidence for the anti-trust cases, predatory pricing etc...

3 - To me, all it says is that for all you intel fanboys out there, it just _proves_ how much you need AMD, no competition and intel just won't bother, you'll be stuck with your core2s for the next 20 years.

 

[skoiboy]

I would seem clear to me that innovation does not lead to a monopoly. Anti-trust is a fine line in this area and any idea that Intel is giving an inch so AMD can catch up in order to avoid monopoly proceedings is ridiculous. While the laws of a monopoly may be hazy, they certainly do not apply in this case, or with any scientific company of this nature. It would almost be like saying a drug company was monopolistic for inventing a cure to cancer and knocking out the competition. The rules are different in science, which this is.

As for the real reason, who knows, but it should be in the front of every one's mind that Intel is a public company which plans for the future but lives for the quarter. They need to hit numbers, and I'm sure this decision helped this cause. Whatever made this happen, such as unloading processors, etc, is to be debated.

 

[MU_Engineer]

I doubt Intel is being "Kind".........

1) It's All FUD and it's shipping on time.
2) There is an issue and Intel is choosing to delay things...
3) Intel is delaying things to help clear old stock
4) Intel will take 2-4 weeks longer to get sufficient stock than expected to have a clean launch
5) Mobo Vendors has asked for the delay to finish BIOS updates.
6) System Vendors have asked for the delay to finish clearing stock.
........

It could be any of those ranging from "No Delay" to lots of reasons.
I don't think kindness is one.
In fact, that would open them up to ShareHolder lawsuits.

Intel has no sympathy for AMD. Intel would charge admission so that people could watch them kick AMD while they were gone to make it more profitable.

You guys collectively hit the nail on the head. Intel is not doing anything differently here with the lower-end Yorkfield release because of AMD. The "lack of competition" phrase I have read in the several linked articles strongly sounds like Zenmaster's third point. The fastest of the Yorkfields that were to be released shortly was the already-released QX9650. It is no more than a few percent faster than the QX6850 in almost everything but a development version of a video encoder. The lower-end Yorkfields would just replace the Q6600 and Q6700, so it makes sense to hold back these chips if there are a lot of Q6600s and Q6700s to be flushed out of inventory, lest the channel get flooded with lower-end quads and prices take a nose dive.

One thing that I saw elsewhere that may be true as well is that Intel has one known major 45 nm fab working and several fabs at 65 nm. If they were to release a bunch of 45 nm chips, demand may not keep up with supply. Intel has been very happily rubbing AMD's nose in the trickle of a 10h launch and they sure as heck do not want to repeat the same mistake if they can avoid it. They can avoid it as they are still making money on the 65 nm parts and don't need the smaller dies of the Yorkfields to break even nor are the 65 nm parts tapped out for speed (although one could argue that the Kentsfields do not have much headroom past 3.00 GHz on anything resembling stock cooling.)

If Intel really were holding back parts solely due to a "lack of competition," it would be the high-end parts. If Intel pushed the top speed bin up a notch or two, that would drop prices on the lower bins as there is a maximum price that people will pay for a top-end chip, and everything slower comes down from there. This would cause them to make less money as they have lower yields due to higher clock speeds at each price point.