Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[alan81]

I think somebody is projecting
AMD has stated their strategy is to always start a new node with the same transistor they leave the last node with. This is NOT consistent with the way INTC does business. The transistors in the cache are the same as the transistors in the CPU... so if the cache has 45nm transistors, so does the CPU. To think otherwise is just wishful thinking. It is highly unlikely the design rules for the process will change much between now and EOL of the process.

The fact that the design can run "soandsomuch" is not too surprising given that it is a shrink... but it does indicate a few important things. The design is currently strong enough to begin certification of the process, and qualification of the design. Once that is done, they can begin shipping the product. Now perhaps based on what you have heard you do not expect the performance/power/die size to change between conroe and Penryn... but I suspect you are mistaken.
--Alan