Must Read: No niche for iPad: Why I returned mine

Topic: Hardware

Without competition from AMD, Intel starts to put the brakes on releases

Summary: I'd been worried that this would happen ... without realistic competition from AMD, Intel delays the launch of three quad-core 45nm processors.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

I'd been worried that this would happen ... without realistic competition from AMD, Intel delays the launch of three quad-core 45nm processors.

DigiTimes has the scoop:

Intel has already notified its partners that it will push back the launch of the three CPUs to February or March next year, depending on AMD's schedule for triple-core and the upcoming Phenom CPUs.

The three delayed processors are the Core 2 Quad Q9300, Q9450 and Q9550 units.  Without competition from AMD, Intel have decided to hold back these processors for the time being so that their releases won't damage 65nm quad-core sales.

This is a problem.  Without realistic competition from AMD, Intel is likely to go back to a much slower development cycle.  While it's unlikely that things will get as bad as they did during the stagnant days of the 486, it's still going to mean that we see less in the way of CPU performance increases in 2008 than we did during 2007.

Ultimately, this means is that there will be fewer cool bits of silicon being released next year.

Thoughts?

Topics: Hardware, Intel, Processors

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

26 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • Good business

    I think this is a good business decision even if it is not good for us consumers. I just bought an AMD laptop to give them a little push :-P
    desjardinsy69
    Reply Vote

  • Quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard

    This just goes to prove that many of these bloggers who pretend to be journalists know absolutely nothing about the business of processors or manufacturing them. If Intel truly has 45nm equipment installed in their Fab and could achieve event higher gross margins by selling their 45nm processors, don't you think they would? Otherwise they have expensive equipment not being used and therefore it depreciates and loses money every day.
    BaneOfWilbur
    Reply Vote

    • So then...

      [i]If Intel truly has 45nm equipment installed in their Fab and could achieve event higher gross margins by selling their 45nm processors, don't you think they would?[/i]

      So then, you doubt that Intel was ever on schedule to release the processors, and never had much of any 45nm product to sell? Interesting. Though I'm not too sure you're correct. If I'm not mistaken, didn't the news of this delay come right after the information regarding AMD's production delays/problems was announced? That seems way to coincidental to me.
      Badgered
      Reply Vote

      • I think OP has it right...

        More likely, Intel's yield isn't as high on the 45nm parts as they let everyone believe, and with the pressure off they don't have to worry about ramping up to meet demand. Or they may have other chips they can manufacture more profitably at the 45nm fabs.
        PR can put whatever spin on it, but I don't recall Intel ever having a problem with a new product line cannibalizing an older one's profits.
        neoanderthal
        Reply Vote

    • You are right! The Inquirer (where the good...

      news is reported) has an article stating Intel is having trouble ramping up the production.

      AMD's woes have nothing to do with Intel's decision.
      bjbrock
      Reply Vote

  • It's a GOOD thing.

    It's actually a [b][i]good[/i][/b] thing. The constant breakneck race to get things "a little bit faster" wastes huge amounts of money and accomplishes very little. The computer industry as a whole needs to spend far more resources on fundamental improvements such as massively parallel processing and black-box code "modules" for things like printing, etc., rather than incredibly minor incremental improvements that largely lead to bloatware with tons of features hardly anyone uses.

    The truth is that most users haven't needed a speed, computing power and functionality upgrade for 3-4 years. For the vast majority of users no significant new improvement has been introduced. Even just simple things like word-processor alternative word listing that shows syllable breaks.

    Most companies and individuals do not run out and get the latest version every time software or hardware comes out. And without software re-written for multiple cores, etc. the changes are basically useless. If it takes a few more months to add 2 more cores or run a little faster or at a little less power, it gives the industry as a whole the opportunity to put more money into significant improvements in functionality, rather than spending money on minor increments just to "get something new out the door".
    Rick_R
    Reply Vote

    • Agreed.

      I don't want to say progress should stop. But computing power has reached a tipping point. The other day I was thinking of throwing another 2GB of memory into my system. Why? Not because I needed it but because it is so inexpensive at $25/1GB. But even at this low price I couldn't justify it...with no added value it is wasted money.
      ye
      Reply Vote

  • It's ggod...

    Let's take a break on the HW side!!! - and get the blo**y SW to improve to do just 10 times the same thing with same processing power. It's about time. HW guys can still make their bread and butter in many other ways than just x*core*x*Ghz if they are just clever enough.
    Eeem
    Reply Vote

    • Good...

      I meant good, not ggod ;-)
      NOT the reincarnation of Snoop Dogg. When Snoop dies, he will be reincarnated as Snoop Ggod. Snoop Ggod will then purge the world of all non-shiznits and people who take their rap careers too seriously.
      ? well ;-)
      Eeem
      Reply Vote

  • Intel was scheduled to launch in Q1-2008 and they haven't changed that

    Intel was scheduled to launch in Q1-2008 and they haven't changed that. Those brand new 45nm fabs cost a fortune to build and operate and they've been cooking for the last few months, not launching as scheduled would be disastrous and it would build up 45nm inventory. The planning for releasing CPUs was done long ago and there was no way Intel could bet on AMD stumbling.
    georgeou
    Reply Vote

    • Why rush to Market

      AMD is bombing. Let them fall a little bit, while Intel gets their ducks in a perfect row.

      Sounds like a good business plan to me. As long as AMD doesn't have some killer monster lurking in the pipe, you can take your time.
      nucrash
      Reply Vote

    • Hilarious! What goes around, comes around . . . :^0

      .
      You make this [u]way[/u] too easy. But ... but ... but... Motorboat! :^0

      No surprise to me. I was [u]100%[/u] confident you would do this. You are [u]so[/u] predictable.



      George Ou:
      "...[AMD] won?t even have [Barcelona] in September which is already late by AMD?s original timeline..."

      http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=567



      TechExec2:
      "...AMD has always said the first products based on Barcelona would be released in the middle of 2007. August is in the middle. Calling it "late" is just more George Ou hype to build up his rabid attack..."

      http://talkback.zdnet.com/5208-10533-0.html?forumID=1&threadID=35931&messageID=661568&start=-1
      TechExec2
      Reply Vote

  • Gives AMD some time to catch up

    Its unfortunate that AMD hit a bit of a wall after their great success with the Athlon X64 series and Opterons the past few years brought them. Some people are quick to count them out of the game and if I have learned anything when it comes to AMD they are like the little engine that could. Despite all the throwbacks of being a much smaller company with less resources (financially and physically) they really give Intel a good run. I think they will have a turn around sooner than people think (or at least I hope they do) So by then I may be ready to upgrade my good ol' Athlon X2.
    bobiroc
    Reply Vote

  • Intel (& Microsoft) have always done the least they had to do

    Intel (& Microsoft) have always done the least they had
    to do to stay ahead of any competition. When there is
    no competition, as has happened at times, they do
    practically nothing. Good business practice, but not
    attitudes you want to trust for innovation, or monopoly.
    I hope AMD springs back.

    A few commenters in here seem to have totally ignored
    the statement that Intel is holding the launch
    "depending on AMD?s schedule for triple-core and the
    upcoming Phenom CPUs." So why are you commenters
    saying Intel's delay has nothing to do with AMD? It says
    it right there in the original article that Intel's
    notification to partners is that it is adjusting it's
    schedule based around what AMD is doing.
    jayk_z
    Reply Vote

    • Just because it is written in a blog ....

      ... doesn't make it true! This is an author opinion piece and not hard news. he is injecting what he thinks is going on.
      ShadeTree
      Reply Vote

      • May be Shade ...

        ... but Intel has no need to release these processors at present. While that may well be opinion, it's quite a coincidence.
        Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
        Reply Vote

        • That depends what they do with the extra spare time

          If they just sit on their lead and do nothing, then consumers will suffer in the short term, but it will leave the door open for AMD to catch up so that in the long term competition will reignite.

          But if they take that spare time (and money) and use it to develop newer and better technologies that need more R&D than your basic CPU throttle-up, then maybe we can get out of our technological rut (in which the only improvements we see are speed jumps) and do some real innovation.
          Michael Kelly
          Reply Vote

  • Where's the need?

    At the risk of making a "nobody needs more than 640k of memory" type statement, I really don't see- outside of gamers and video manipulation- that much need for more speed.
    Maybe if we ever get good voice recognition, or another- unforeseen application.....
    Granted, Microsoft is doing all it can to force folks to need faster hardware ;), but in every day use, I cannot see any perceived difference between my single core 1.8 ghz system and my dual core 2.3 ghz system....
    bryantrv
    Reply Vote

    • Actually, Java and XML is doing all it can to force better hardware

      "Granted, Microsoft is doing all it can to force folks to need faster hardware"

      Actually, Java and XML is doing all it can to force better hardware. http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/?p=480
      georgeou
      Reply Vote

      • non-typical files

        Those files were so non-typical it was actually worse than a synthetic benchmark.
        dragosani
        Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close