I'm surprised amd hasn't put out 8 core and 6 core cpus. It would seem that there would be a market for them. Even if each core is slower than the I7 cores 8 of them would speed up rendering of avchd and even nero transcoding alot. I'm sure many people would pick them up if they were priced right.
The AMD Execution Thread [2007 - 2017]
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They would need a small fab for that, wouldn't they?
Why ? Sure the chip would be larger , but they can sell it for a higher cost. Also going with the current 2,3,4 core set up and then a 6 , 8 they can save chips that would normaly be thrown out.
AMD's higher core counts are coming later, but it will be 6-core per die, with a 12-core MCM.
Without a wider memory interface, the cores would be bandwidth-constrained, and without a wider socket, the chip simply would not fit.
AMD's 45nm Opterons clock in at roughly 250 mm2, and the successors at 6 cores would necessarily be larger. An 8-core would be pushing 500 mm2, and it would be close to the maximum dimensions allowed by the reticle.
AMD's luck with chips above that die size has not been great, and its ability to validate large designs relative to a much larger and profitable Intel is restricted.
A new platform+larger die+MCM+a currently new process is a significant engineering challenge and for many reasons would be disastrous if done right now.
Intel's 8-core chip is similarly scheduled much later, and it is also a large chip with a new socket.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AMD-to-cut-1100-workers-9-pct-apf-14084785.html
"Pay for workers who survive the cuts will shrink. AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer and executive chairman Hector Ruiz, the former CEO, will see their salaries slashed by 20 percent. Vice presidents and other top management will have their pay cut 15 percent, other salaried workers will go down 10 percent, and pay for hourly workers will fall 5 percent. AMD said the pay cuts are temporary. AMD was not specific about how pay would be cut in other countries."
Given this I expect their next quarterly earnings to be very bad indeed.
"Pay for workers who survive the cuts will shrink. AMD's CEO Dirk Meyer and executive chairman Hector Ruiz, the former CEO, will see their salaries slashed by 20 percent. Vice presidents and other top management will have their pay cut 15 percent, other salaried workers will go down 10 percent, and pay for hourly workers will fall 5 percent. AMD said the pay cuts are temporary. AMD was not specific about how pay would be cut in other countries."
Given this I expect their next quarterly earnings to be very bad indeed.
We can look at the hits Intel took to see where AMD might go in the PC market, and at Nvidia to know where it could go in the graphics market.
That's not a particularly comforting indicator, and AMD was even prior to this mess significantly worse off than either competitor.
I wonder if the foundry deal will still go through without further modifications.
That's not a particularly comforting indicator, and AMD was even prior to this mess significantly worse off than either competitor.
I wonder if the foundry deal will still go through without further modifications.
Probably when the stock stops dropping.
Silent_Buddha
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Kinda feel bad for AMD.
The ATI aquisition is finally holding it's own and additionally helping to keep AMD's losses down overall...
Phenom II finally gets them somewhat competitive in the performance-midrange... And with it hope that more of the bleeding will slow/stop...
And then the recession smacks them in the face...
Regards,
SB
The ATI aquisition is finally holding it's own and additionally helping to keep AMD's losses down overall...
Phenom II finally gets them somewhat competitive in the performance-midrange... And with it hope that more of the bleeding will slow/stop...
And then the recession smacks them in the face...
Regards,
SB
I feel the same way, the product line-up is now good on the graphics side and improved on the cpu side so this is very unfortunate with the timing.
Ouch. From what I've heard AMD/ATI already have moral problems. Having your pay cut while your friends around you are fired certainly isn't going to help the moral of anyone that's left. I really feel bad for the engineers since they're the ones hurting the most and (most?) of the company's problems can be pinned on management.
AMD will run out of money by Nov 2009 and that is without the fake goodwill and one time writedowns and IF they hit their estimates which haven't been revised in 2 months.
One analyst has said they will have problems running the company if their cash drops beloe $700 million. That would be around the beginning of Summer 2009 without any writeoffs.
I would expect bankruptcy anytime from March to September 2009.
Sad to see Hector and crew totally screw their workers and shareholders over because of their own greed.
One analyst has said they will have problems running the company if their cash drops beloe $700 million. That would be around the beginning of Summer 2009 without any writeoffs.
I would expect bankruptcy anytime from March to September 2009.
Sad to see Hector and crew totally screw their workers and shareholders over because of their own greed.
Companies that are currently laying off have already rounds before, so there's not a lot of under-performers left. Which means that additional cuts will take out those who usually had a reasonable expectation to be safe...
With the job situation in the valley being what it is right now, I'd rather take the sure thing of a little less money (after all, I was able the survive on, say, 10% less just a couple of years ago) than gamble on being one of the lucky ones. Also, my (very personal, of course) feeling on this is that pay cuts are better for overall moral than cuts. It better underscores the we're-in-this-together group think than the let's-hope-it's-not-me mind set. YMMV...
Or may be the US govt will bail them out. After all it's the season of the bailout.
Yah if you work for a company like GM who totally screwed up you get a bailout and get to keep your overpayed job but if you work for a company like INTEL, who makes money you get shafted because the country is going through a hard time and the company needs to remain profitable.
Oh yah.... you get to help pay for (taxes) those overpayed workers to keep getting payed while you get laid off.
So the moral of the story is if you screw up you get bailed out but if you do well your workers get no help.
Should be NO bailouts!
AMD will hopefully come out of BK and be fine.
Yes, there shouldn't be. But there are bailouts and AMD deserves it, if only to keep the competition alive and yes they have been doing things mostly well if not great since the relaunch of Phenom. Pity, such a reccession had to strike now.
AMD will survive and BK might actually be good for them if they clean out all the Hector types in the company.
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