Replies to post #9908 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[Elmer Phud]

Joe - I don't think Intel is adding capacity with the intent of potentially adding huge cache to desktop chips. I don't think they need to and I don't think Opteron/A64 is going to beat Intel at the highend any more than I did a year or two ago. But let's not argue the point. What difference does it make how either company delivers performance as long as they deliver? The only real question is who can make money?

[Tenchu]

Joe, Intel can hurt AMD by increasing size of caches, or to potentially compensate for faster performing AMD processors. Furgher, Intel can limit the total output of AMD if Intel can successfully force AMD to follow suit and increase cache (= die size of AMD processors).

Sounds like a legitimate strategy to me, as long as the extra cache buys you extra performance, and people are willing to buy the extra cache.

And some AMDroids thought Barrett was nuts to have invested so much in 2001 and 2002 cap-ex. Like I said back then, that was probably the best decision Barrett has ever made in his career as CEO. AMDroids fell back to the old "smaller die size is better" argument that didn't work for K6 and K6-2. Once again, they were proven wrong, and all that remains are complaints over cache.

Tenchu