Replies to post #52443 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[SmallPops]

wbmw, Re -"Intel will try to differentiate themselves with greater levels of platform integration" Would you care to share more on this?

Re -"and software support" Are you suggesting that software will support EM64T and not AMD64?

Regards,
Smallpops

[I_banker]

wbmw, we are not talking about centrino notebooks. I am not sure what you believe to be the "greater platform integration" that Intel will offer in the next 3 years -- while changing the basic design of Xeon -- but I think Sun will want to keep its future in its own hands (i.e. Sun will design its servers based on the components it deems best). If Xeon is a superior product, it will be offered, otherwise including Intel branded chipsets or motherboards is just so much fluff.

[jhalada]

wbmw,

I would assume that in order for you to make the above statement, you would have to assume that there are zero platform differences between a system based on AMD or Intel, 3 years down the road. I couldn't disagree more.

How much differences do these things make for the end user? Consider PCs. There were some new featurs (MMX, DDR, SSE, RDRAM, integrated video, SSE-2, DDR-2, AMD64, integrated networking, disk controllers, wireless) and companies such as Intel and AMD always caught up with the other one in very short time, or some features started on high end models first, eventually migrated to the rest of the line. How much all these differences really made to the users, as far as being on bleeding edge and getting something 6 months to 1 year earlier than everyone else?

It is very likely that there will be a similar game of catch up in the server market as it was on desktop.

In the end, developing it all in house will be a huge advantage for Intel

Except when the management commits to something like RDRAM, and deny customers choice of PC-133 or DDR.

Sun would be idiotic in their hubris not to offer both Intel and AMD, to at least let their customers make the choice.

Are you saying that Dell's policy is idiotic?

Joe

[aleph0]

.."and Sun would be idiotic in their hubris not to offer both Intel and AMD, to at least let their customers make the choice."..

Remember Apple ?
They lived on the laurels of the (good) MC68xxx family until X86 chips were much faster. Many Apple customers I knew at the time moved to X86 because they wanted a faster photoshop ( offset-printing companies etc. ).
Apple was dying a death ( like Sun Sparc ) until IBM rescued them with the PPC chip. Apple quickly became a new fresh Apple again.

I see a similar thing happening with Sun.
Apple had the best OS for the time, but the hardware was getting old.
Sun's has THE software & expertise in the server market - which is why many Sun customers still haven't moved from Sparc "yet" !
I consider that there are some parallels between AMD's AMD64+HTT architectural lead over Intel's somewhat ageing architecture to Apple's jump from MC68xxx to PPC.

I think Sun will make very good mileage by going AMD64. ...and I think there's a good chance that AMD could keep or increase this design-lead over Intel in the next 3-5 years.

Sun's choosing of AMD is making a BIG statement to the business world : Flying the AMD64 flag at it's highest .
This should not be underestimated IMO !