AMD needs to capitalize on its Advantage


We have to be honest about ourselves where we are heading. We are heading to a system on chip, SOC. 7nm process is part of that. We are going to have a computer that will fit in our hand that will do what we want.

7nm + small die means that AMD's manufacturing costs are going to plummet relative to Intel's.

Remember, Intel's been making 10nm CPU's for over two years now. The problem is their yields have been so abysmal that they can't ship a fully enabled product.

It's not just their failure to ship new process tech, it's a failure to establish synergy between their foundry process and their CPU design.

AMD knew that they wouldn't have Intel's density advantage. So they designed a CPU that didn't rely on having one, and then executed on that strategy both in design and manufacturing.

Yields on TSMC's 7nm process are almost certainly lower than GF's 14/12, but AMD is already positioned (because their design anticipated it) to respond to the lower yield by having a more modular design that is less responsive to yield.

Intel, on the other hand, designed CPU's that are absolutely dependent upon excellent yields. When their process stumbled (and mind you, 'stumble' may still mean 'better yields than TSMC'), they were completely exposed because Intel's XHC and HCC strategy consumes wafers at a terrifying rate that gets exponentially worse as yields go down.

AMD didn't just beat Intel on process. They beat them everywhere. They are just better than Intel this generation.

If Intel's board isn't offering Lisa the farm to take over, they're idiots.

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