Replies to post #25401 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[Elmer Phud]

Joe -

I just don't agree with your agrument. A blank wafer costs ~$300. If we use $3000 for the finished 300mm wafer cost (I think I had earlier said $2500) we have $2700 in processing cost. At ~30K wafers a month that would be $81 Million a month or nearly $1Billion per year or approx $10 billion for a 10 year lifespan of a single fab costing ~$2.5 Billion to build. I don't know how Intel distributes their depreciation but I would expect that it is front end loaded.

[kpf]

joe - Great Post!

Also, it is not clear if the 2 of these fabs can supply all of the x86 microprocessor demand

Yes! Intel is not sure either; that's why they build this third (spare) fab in Leixlip. It was about time somebody raised this question here.

K.