SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- In a recent interview, Hector de J. Ruiz, president and chief operating officer of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., insisted the chip maker is well positioned in the PC processor arena, in spite of the sharp IC downturn and competitive pressures from Intel Corp.
But it appears that AMD is not taking any chances. Hoping to regain its footing in the microprocessor arena, AMD this month will announce a one-two punch in the personal computer arena: it will begin a new and risky marketing campaign for its Athlon chip line, while describing the first details of its 64-bit family of processors.
Early next week, AMD is expected to roll out a 1.5-GHz Athlon processor, and will also rename its entire Athlon chip line. The Athlon line--to be renamed the Athlon XP--will be assigned a new speed grade for the product that corresponds to the performance of Intel's Pentium 4 processors.
For example, AMD's new 1.5-GHz Althon will be called the Athlon XP 1800, because the device is said to stack up to Intel's 1.8-GHz Pentium 4 processor in terms of performance.
Not to be outdone, AMD will describe the first details of its code-named Hammer line of 64-bit processors at the Microprocessor Forum, which starts on Oct. 15 in San Jose.
AMD will officially launch Hammer in the second half of 2002, with shipments slated for 2003 or so, Ruiz said in a recent interview with SBN.
The new products are aimed to get AMD back on track in the processor business, according to analysts. For example, the company today blamed price erosion in PC microprocessors for causing an unexpected shortfall in third-quarter revenues, which fell 22% from $985.3 million in Q2. AMD had been expecting a sequential decline of 10-to-15%.
AMD also seems to be losing one customer after another. IBM, Gateway, and Micron have recently dropped their PC lines based on AMD's processors, and instead, are developing products exclusively built around Intel's chips.
Executives from AMD put a positive spin on the matter. "We would like to have everybody use our products," Ruiz said. "But the PC industry is in turmoil. There are also lot of fundamental changes going on in the industry," he said.
To get back on track, AMD will roll out its Athlon XP line, which is based on a new and improved 0.18-micron core. "We will start making our 0.13-micron processors next quarter," he said.
"We feel confident with our roadmap," Ruiz added.
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