Replies to post #6836 on AMD strictly moderated (AMD)

[mmoy]

> This is unlike Dell, who is actually touting their AMD products
> much louder than their Intel products. This is a huge mistake
> for them, given that customers are clearly demanding Intel now.

I suspect that Dell is selling a lot of cheap AMD systems. If you want a performance system, you have to go with Intel and XPS and that knocks you into a higher price range. Especially given the dearth of coupons on XPS systems.

Dell's stock is up 15 percent in the last month so I assume that there are some expectations of a good quarter. I've noticed that they have cut back on the discounts this month which is unusual.
I'm looking casually for an E521 X2 5600+ or a Conroe 2.4 Ghz system and coupons are scarce on the E521 right now. Usually they're discounting like mad this time of the year.

The AMD price cut from April 9 hasn't made it into Dell's boxes yet too. When it does come through, I think that the price will be similar to the system I bought a few months ago.

[KeithDust2000]

wbmw, in spite of Dell's steep Opteron ramp.

...with an HPC model and a 4-way server. That´s about as steep as it gets when it comes to server volumes.

It suggests the other OEMs are moving back to Intel faster than Dell is ramping AMD.

What that suggests is that server buyers bought more INTEL-based servers last quarter.

And yet they are still proclaiming their Intel product lines, too.

Yes, they always have. The difference is they now offer AMD as well.

This is unlike Dell, who is actually touting their AMD products much louder than their Intel products.

The vast majority of Dell´s server sales are INTEL based, just like their advertising. Your perception is seriously flawed here.

This is a huge mistake for them, given that customers are clearly demanding Intel now.

They are not making any mistakes in that regard. They have a comprehensive INTEL server line-up that they advertise accordingly. Customers that "demand INTEL" get it from them as always.

[mmoy]

I get the feeling that AMD is giving Dell bigger discounts for pushing AMD harder. It's not only the advertising (I get regular emails pushing the Dell E521 which is AMD-based over the E520 which is Intel-based). The way that they do the pricing, it's hard to conclude anything else.

WRT the X2 5600+ vs E6600 issue in the E520/E521 line - I've
always wondered if that's due to cost or if it's due to other
issues. With the E6600 coming in at parity next week, I would
like to see that processor offered in the E520. I think that
change would result in Dell selling more E6600 processors.

AMD/Dell has a lock in price/performance at that performance
level at the moment. Overclocking notwithstanding.