Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[mas]

'The problem is that AMD's brand does not carry the equity that Intel's has, so the problem of devaluing the benefits via a similar metric may be even more pronounced. If retail customers see little difference between Athlon and Sempron (I don't know if you have any market data to the contrary, but I suspect that this will often be the case), then there is little incentive to buy an Athlon 3000+ when the Sempron 3000+ is lower price.'

Well those who are interested in lower price will gravitate towards the Sempron. Those who are curious about the price difference or do some research will then draw their own conclusions. High-end buyers tend to *know* what they are buying to the nth degree anyway. A third scenario could be that buyers compare the Sempron 3000+ against the 3 Ghz Prescott and buy the former on performance/price . Also Sempron's ultimate ratings will always be below Athlon's so those who want the biggest number this year can still have the 4000+ .