Is the AMD ‘Neo’ Too Late to Survive the Intel Atomic Drop!
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ComputerWorld has an article detailing the second quarter arrival of a new chip, dubbed Neo, to compete in the netbook space dominated by the Intel Atom series.
Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Tuesday said it would ship new laptop and server processors later this quarter, which should up the ante in its competition with rival chip maker Intel Corp.
AMD will ship new dual-core Athlon Neo processors for ultrathin laptops and Istanbul chips for servers to system builders toward the end of the second quarter, AMD executives said on an earnings conference call on Tuesday. The chips will appear in systems early in the following quarter.
I want an Istanbul for my desktop! I’ve been a good boy, I deserve it!
The dual-core Neo chip is an update of the single-core Neo chip that AMD launched in January at the International CES in Las Vegas.
Neo chips are power-efficient processors designed for subnotebooks that can deliver full functionality at affordable prices, AMD says. The company put Neo into a category of PCs it calls “ultrathin” laptops, which falls between ultraportable and netbook laptops. Ultraportables are too expensive, while netbooks, though cheap, provide limited PC experience, AMD contends.
This kind of semantics slicing (inventing new words, instead of attacking head on) usually doesn’t work well for most companies, hopefully the Neo will be powerful enough, while keeping the current flow low.
The dual-core Neo will be part of the Congo platform, and it will deliver better performance and integrated graphics capabilities than its predecessors. Hewlett-Packard Co. uses the single-core Neo in its Pavilion dv2 laptop, which has a 12.1-in. screen and is priced at $750.
The updated Neo chips could face competition from Intel’s upcoming low-power processors — also called CULV processors — which could be launched later this quarter. Dodging questions about how the Neo chips will compete against CULV processors, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer said the company has many design wins around Neo and is happy with the way chip development is progressing.
The article does not mention the Via chips, which have been chosen for the next generation of One Laptop Per Child initiative. I wonder where that chip fits, in terms of power/power consumption.
a little later in the same article -
The chips offer better performance while drawing the same amount of power as quad-core Shanghai server chips, AMD officials have said. Servers with eight Istanbul chips could offer the processing power of up to 48 cores.
AMD has already demonstrated working models of Istanbul, and the chips will be manufactured using the 45-nanometer process.
“This allows AMD to move into position for a stronger showing in the server space during the second half of the year,” Spooner wrote.
AMD is in a continuous race with Intel to put more cores on chips to improve performance while drawing less power. Intel in 2010 will release the eight-core Nehalem EX processors, which will enable servers to have up to 64 cores. AMD plans to follow Istanbul with the 12-core chip code-named Magny-Cours in 2010.
That looks good for Istanbul, and since the power draw is the same, there is no reason why I should not be able to have one on my desk!
back to the point -
Will AMD be able to do much in this market? I love AMD, cause they are scrappy, and make things cheaper for me, but Intel has a large head start. AMD’s only chance is to show a huge difference in efficiency, or power, and then a commitment to keeping the chip around long enough, and in enough numbers, for the big boys to ramp up designs.
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You just can’t argue with the truth!
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2 Comments
Danieljohnson
May 6th, 2009
at 3:05am
With Intel’s six core Nehalem architecture fast capturing the market, it was necessary for AMD to come up with something quickly. And finally came up with the release of Istanbul, the Opteron series from AMD features six cores and a faster HyperTransport interconnect
So what does AMD have going for it right now with Istanbul:
Istanbul provides the best value for customers who already own a Shanghai or Barcelona based server. In-socket replacement, very low downtime for upgrades and better performance with just a change of CPU.
DDR2 memory – DDR2 memory is now priced very competitively against DDR3. This brings down the overall cost of the system. Istanbul will use DDR2 instead of the more costly DDR3 memory.
the oracle
May 6th, 2009
at 9:04am
Danieljohnson, we all know Istanbul will be a great design, but I’m still waiting for the 32nm process, and soemthing that once again, like the original Opteron, puts he hurt to Intel.
AMD has a design that appears to be better, design wise, than Intel, but Intel is able to spend more, lose more on each wafer, and turn out chips that are faster, though the AMD designs, if turned out by Intel, would be better.
The new fabs should help bring parity, and maybe the next gen after that will be the one.