Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[Elmer Phud]

Sgolds -

Remember, at this point we are comparing 130nm to 130nm. The die size isn't different enough to make such a difference. I know there are special startup costs for SOI, by now yields should be increasing and cost per die should be coming down. Also, I will presume you mean the desktop version of P4, not Xeon and not EE. Still, I can see a 2x difference when one considers die size difference plus SOI costs. 3 to 4x?

The generally poor output of Fab30 means that when accounting for poor relative yield for SOI you must start from a lower baseline. Based on the low output it would appear that even bulk silicon yield is low. There are other possible explanations but this is the most likely, imo.