Replies to post #3329 on Intel Corp (INTC)

[subzero]

AMD effectively dumps all projects with UMC on future process development - and now jumps into bed with IBM.
I wonder how much of a write-off AMD will take on their UMC investment?
More shareholder money down the tubes.

Press Release Source: AMD


AMD and IBM to Jointly Develop Advanced Chip Technologies
Wednesday January 8, 12:35 pm ET


SUNNYVALE, CALIF. and EAST FISHKILL, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2003--AMD (NYSE: AMD - News) and IBM (NYSE: IBM - News) today announced the two companies have entered into an agreement to jointly develop chip-making technologies for use in future high-performance products.
The new processes, developed by AMD and IBM, will be aimed at improving microprocessor performance and reducing power consumption, and will be based on advanced structures and materials such as high-speed silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors, copper interconnects and improved "low-k dielectric" insulation.

The agreement includes collaboration on 65 and 45nm (nanometer; a billionth of a meter) technologies to be implemented on 300mm (millimeter) silicon wafers.

"We are set to commence production of our 90nm solutions in the fourth quarter of 2003, so we are now expanding process-technology development efforts for our next generation of processors targeted at 65nm and below," said Bill Siegle, senior vice president, technology operations and chief scientist at AMD. "By collaborating with an industry leader like IBM, AMD can deliver industry-leading performance and functionality for our customers while reducing the rapidly escalating cost of technology development."

AMD and IBM will be able to use the jointly-developed technologies to manufacture products in their own chip fabrication facilities and in conjunction with selected manufacturing partners. The companies expect first products based on the new 65nm technologies to appear in 2005.

"Today's marketplace demands the most advanced chip designs and materials technologies," said Bijan Davari, IBM Fellow and vice president, technology and emerging products, IBM Microelectronics Division. "Our work with AMD is all about speeding our joint technologies into products, and helping reduce the time-to-market for customers."

The development will be supported by AMD and IBM engineers working together in IBM's Semiconductor Research and Development Center (SRDC) in IBM's East Fishkill, N.Y. facility. Work is expected to begin by January 30, 2003.

About AMD

AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor's 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969, AMD is based in Sunnyvale, California. (NYSE: AMD - News).

AMD on the Web

For more AMD news and product information, please visit our virtual pressroom at www.amd.com/news/virtualpress/index.html. Additional press releases are available at www.amd.com/news/news.html.

About IBM Microelectronics

IBM Microelectronics is a key contributor to IBM's role as the world's premier information technology supplier. IBM Microelectronics develops, manufactures and markets state-of-the-art semiconductor, ASIC and interconnect technologies, products and services. Its superior integrated solutions can be found in many of the world's best-known electronic brands.

IBM is a recognized innovator in the chip industry, having been first with advances like more power-efficient copper wiring in place of aluminum, faster silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and silicon germanium transistors, and improved low-k dielectric insulation between chip wires. These and other innovations have contributed to IBM's standing as the number one U.S. patent holder for nine consecutive years. More information about IBM Microelectronics can be found at: http://www.ibm.com/chips.

Note to Editors: AMD, the AMD Arrow logo and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
AMD Public Relations
Rob Keosheyan, 512/602-4764
[e-mail]
or
IBM Microelectronics
Scott Sykes, 845/892-5023
[e-mail]



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: AMD

[Nitt]

re:"Interesting Hammer Article. Good Reading."

From the article "I'm sure that you shouldn't expect much from the Hammer architecture on the desktop market - the best performance gain will be reached on the market of SMP systems. In case of desktops the advantages are the support of the x86-64, SSE2, and more efficient models. But this is enough to attract potential customers."

This quote, if it turns out to be true, should make it very scary for AMD investors. AMD cannot build a big profitable business around CPUs for the share of the server market they will take from Sun, IBM, HP, and Intel solutions. They need significant desktop volume also to help pay for the development. In addition they are at least first ship date plus a year... probably two years before IT managers and data centers would consider doing more then evaluating the AMD. In the meantime, Intel will have two more spins of Itanium and Xeon... and Sun is not planning to go away either.

64 bitness alone will not save AMD, they need applications and solutions that will sell systems.

[wbmw]

Constantine, I'm not sure what you think the big deal is. I didn't know when Digit-Life decided to become AMD's marketing voice, but they are clearly using AMD's slides, their marketing ideas, their TPI, and their performance claims as the basis for the entire article. I've seen you convinced over AMD marketing before, so it's not at all surprising that you're buying this info now.

If AMD is able to gather their benchmarks of choice, then it's pretty obvious they will choose ones that put the Athlon 64 in the best light possible. Their SPEC benchmarks are also outdated, as almost all the Pentium 4 and Xeon based systems have since been updated with higher scores. SPECfp is also heavily influenced by memory bandwidth, which the Pentium 4 will get with a faster front side bus and dual channel DDR.

The rest of the article is nothing more than AMD bullish tripe. I'll wait for the official reviews.

wbmw