Everytime Intel bumps their roadmap up in frequency, AMD needs to update two pinouts to keep pace.
Actually, in recent days it's been Intel who has had to keep pace. Given the superiority of AFX over P4EE (which is supposed to be better than Prescott), there is little reason to think this is going to change soon. Maybe with higher-clocked Precotts, but then only if AMD's 90nm process is not on schedule.
Do they share a common die? If not this is going to be hell trying to forecast and build to.
From what I understand, they do have a common die. 940 and 754 do, for sure. 939 might require an update to the memory controller--anybody know?--to make dual nonregistered DDR work, but there's no reason to think that they all couldn't use the same die.
Imagine having to actually forecast and build "value" processors rather than just downbinning them from the "performance" line in response to market demand.
The value line for near future is Socket A. The XP will become a value line (maybe with a Hammer core, maybe not) on socket 754 in 2004. However, that does not mean that socket 754 is an all-value platform, anymore that socket 478 is an all-value platform because it supports Celeron. Socket 754 will support high-end and low-end desktops, sockets 939 is for the highest-end, workstation-class processors.
What impact does this have on their motherboard partners who are trying to figure out the same thing with a volume to split amongst them of <1/6th the Intel compatible volume? Now in addition they need to figure out the split between performance and value footprints? How can they possibly make any money?
Intel dominates the Pentium chipset market, wheras AMD stays out of its own chipset market except for servers. That means that Via, SiS, nVidia, ALI, ATI all get a chance at complete participation and greater return. Not to mention that AMD64 boards are going to be cheaper to design and manufacture given the integrated memory controller.
As far as socket differentiation, AMD will be able to tell them well enough in advance, because, as I've already explained, 754 is not just a "value" socket--there is flexibility in this platform, almost as much as in socket A or 478. Since most (all?) mobo companies that produce for 939 will also have a 754 product, it will only require increasing production on one line, decreasing on the other--not a big deal. Design requirements for the platforms are identical except for the socket itself and the memory traces--trivial stuff.
Writing all this, it's occured to me how well AMD has improved on its market segmentation with the new generation of chips. Ruiz really is much more a businessman than Jerry.
EDIT: Although, Jerry was a better trader ;)
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