AMD alllllmost promises profitability by year end AMD, slapped around by what CEO Rory Read and other corporate honchos like to refer to as "the challenging macro environment," looks to regain profitability in the second half of this year. On a conference call with analysts and reporters after announcing its weak financial results for its fourth quarter of 2012, AMD CFO …
And buy AMD exclusively. That is all I have been selling in my little shop for the past 5 years and my customers couldn't be happier, they always have killer graphics and the bang for the buck is quite sweet. I also put my money where my mouth is when it comes to my family, we have 5 desktops, 2 laptops, and 3 gaming cards...all AMD.
Honestly unless you are one of the 3% that need every last MHz you can possibly get AMD chips will give you more than you will be able to use. I have been rocking a 1035T 6 core for over a year now and I have to say its the best $100 USD I ever spent on a CPU, it just tears through transcodes while turbocore gives me the extra punch when I'm gaming, just a great chip.
And as somebody who remembers what it was like when Intel was alone, which was nothing but high prices and stagnation, I want to see AMD stay healthy. the fact that 3 out of the 4 consoles are using AMD in either CPU or GPU or both (Xbox Next CPU+GPU, PS4 APU, Wii U GPU) should help but that doesn't mean we can't do our part and buy AMD when we need a new system. Their prices are low, they get plenty of performance, and they have better IGPs and GPUs than Intel, so what's not to like?
For the past 40 years fools have been writing AMD's obituary, but AMD ain't dead yet - by a long shot, unfortunately for Intel.
I would not be surprised at all if it takes AMD a few more years to get their ship righted and stable considering the never ending economic depression that exists in the U.S., Europe and Asia, the primary PC and PC toy markets of the world.
AMD does actually have good products now and better products coming for PCs as well as portables, which is the booming niche right now. Micro servers is another area where AMD/Sea Micro have a number of exciting new products coming to market so Read may be accurate with his sales and profits projections, though it is still impossible to accurately read the market as Microsucks, Intel, Apple and many more who thought they were immune to the world wide economic disaster are learning real quickly.
The problem as written up by a former engineer is that the CEO after Ruiz, can't remember his name ATM, basically did a slash and burn on the company so he could get a quick rise out of the stock and cash out. The guys that made Bobcat? FIRED. The guys that made Athlon64? FIRED.
Pretty much all of the really great chip designers they had were given the boot in favor of computer controlled layouts which is why the bulldozer line is such a power piggie, computers simply don't understand anything about optimizing or most used paths so you end up with a chip that's 15% larger, slower, and more power hungry which when you are already behind is NOT the way to go. But of course firing that many people that got decent paychecks did give a short term bounce to the stock. Here is the link although I don't know if links are allowed here or not, this is my first time trying to post a link here so if I mess it up my apologies.
http://www.insideris.com/amd-spreads-propaganda-ex-employee-speaks-out/
While AMD certainl has had it's own share of internal conflicts and CEOs focused on bonuses rather than long term success, Intel has also been a problem because of their unscrupulous buying of sales and intimidation of OEMs who have used or have wanted to sell AMD products. This intimidation didn't end with Intel's conviction for these crimes.
If Rory Read succeeds, he'll be labled a genius. If he fails then a lot of damage will have been done by him in particular with the recent reorganization of AMD. While tablets and portables are certainly market segments worth pursuing, doing so at the cost of AMD's X86 base, would be suicide. Hopefully Read is smart enough to know who to hire to rejuvinate AMD's desktop and server business as their laptop, APU and GPU Biz is quite good already.
In the very dynamic PC market that exists it will take a lot of hard work and a good crystal ball to stay ahead of the demand curve and reap good profits. AMD may struggle for years before they break through again, but it is highly probable they will once again be able to compete with Intel at the very top of the CPU ranks, though they have no problem with providing superior performance and value in the mid-range and low end segments. AMD's current IP advantage in APUs is quite an asset as that is the future.
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