Replies to post #60891 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[KeithDust2000]

Tenchu, What gee-whiz features is AMD offering that OEMs want, but Intel supposedly won't allow them to?

Dual-core in 2P volume servers now, without any increase in power (rather a decrease compared with Xeon, even with DC), superior 64bit performance, just to stick with one example (there are additional advantages, but this is enough for the argument).

How come it's not worth it to the OEMs to drop the Intel rebates and go with AMD?

Let´s take Dell. 100% of their servers are INTEL-based. I´ll choose hypothetical numbers to get the point across. Let´s say Dell sells 1M Xeons per quarter. They get a certain rebate per processor (or there is a similar scheme with the same effect). Now they want to adopt Opteron. Let´s say they adopt the configuration described above. They´d get good pricing from
AMD for what would, in the first quarter, be maybe a few 10K parts (or whatever you deem reasonable). However, adopting Opteron would drop the rebates on the additional 1M processors from INTEL, making it factually impossible for Dell to make the move, as the lost rebates would far exceed the potential upside from selling Opteron, even with heavy discounts on Opteron.

I don´t think this is so hard to understand - especially if the company in question has 90% of the market.

[wbmw]

Re: What gee-whiz features is AMD offering that OEMs want, but Intel supposedly won't allow them to? How come it's not worth it to the OEMs to drop the Intel rebates and go with AMD?

Jerry Sanders used to argue that a beat-up car with a rebate is still a beat-up car (or something to that effect). He was describing the Pentium 4 at the time, but it's kind of ironic now, don't you think?

[aleph0]

// not worth it to the OEMs to drop the Intel rebates and go with AMD? //

Perception in the market is that AMD has the goods.
Those OEMs "not" selling AMD are risking their reputation and credibility in the eyes of the educated customers IMO.


In the most recent CHIP in Germany, there was a 1 page Advert [page 41] from 1&1 ( the biggest ISP in Germany ) offering root servers for rent per month.
The title of the Ad was "1&1 Server - perfect server solutions for companies"
Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz etc. - 69$ pm.
Intel Pentium 4 3.00GHz etc. - 99$ pm.
AMD Opteron 148 with 2.2 GHz - 149$ pm.

Also "splashed" in the middle of the page was a large red rectangle with the AMD64-Opteron Logo and the following text :

<<
Neu HighTech Processors!
Now also with AMD Opteron:
- specially developed for server applications
- 64-bit processor
- Hyper Transport Protocol
>>

I might add that MANY others Adverts in the Magazine showed other ISPs offering AMD ranges for their root servers.
..from Sempron to Opterons.


My take on this is that ISPs are VERY "energy"-cost sensitive.
They've obviously done their "energy calculations" correctly on what it costs them to run large server farms using various "solutions".

I also suspect that large corporations have done the same calculations - not so much on "just" energy-costs but on cooling and space requirements.

..which is why I ranted on about the AMD "energy" advantage some weeks/months ago !

***
That 1&1 are advertizing Opterons as their highest-end solution is VERY SIGNIFICANT in my opinion.
AMD couldn't wish for better PR than that IMO !
***

It wouldn't surprise me if the ISP market is the biggest volume-server opportunity for AMD... the cost-saving factor of low-energy, low-cooling, low space AMD solutions is PARAMOUNT to their profit margins !!!