Replies to post #70413 on Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[wbmw]

Re: Don't you think things are likely to happen a little faster, now that AMD has 2 full-fledged fabs to work with?

Manufacturing is not the limiter when it comes to design launches. As a business, one tends to use a one-year cadence for your yardstick, and plan to launch one new CPU per year, provided you don't screw up and have to cancel CPUs, like Intel did with Tejas. So assuming AMD executes, they have made a pretty straight-forward public disclosure on their future plans, which seems to include:

- A 65nm shrink this year (2006)
- A quad core / K8 derivative core next year (2007)
- A 45nm shrink the following year (2008)
- A new micro-architecture the year after that. (2009)

Intel's processor roadmap should be similar, except their process generations tend to happen on odd numbered years, 6-12 months ahead of AMD.

[chipguy]

Developing a high end microprocessor from scratch takes
from 3 to 5 years from basic specification to commercial
release. The fab is only involved for the last 6 to 12 months.
From the AMD CTO's description of where things are at with
AMD's next generation cores they are about six months into
the development cycle.