Comments on: Why AMD must embrace ARM to stay alive

By: ChiefBox

ChiefBox — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 00:45:06 +0000

Let me see if I got this right: we’re talking about the same AMD that for years played a second tier to intel (over 25+ years), with no more than 15-20% x86 market share, and no other major players to contend with – and yet they struggled despite, AMD’s wonderful innovations. Now what makes you think they have a chance with a bigger pool of formidable players. I’m rooting for AMD, but they had their chances, and I hope I’m wrong.

By: Ian Ferguson

Ian Ferguson — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:37:57 +0000

Hey, I think Stacey is pretty fair. She has been passionate about reporting on the dynamics of the industry that is leading to alternative technology approaches to solving the problem. ARM is in the mix (and I don’t think that 32, 3GHz 64-bit cores is that crappy but I am biased as I run the ARM server program. Besides, it is less about the core, it is about the technology that silicon companies integrate alongside the processor core) but they are other options including Intel themselves. She covers those. Stacey, I have got your back!

By: Helpful

Helpful — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 23:04:58 +0000

Stacey, all you think is ARM ARM ARM everywhere. It’s a crappy core when it comes to performance. Think outside the box sometimes. Dont stick your head in only one place.

By: Renu Raman

Renu Raman — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 05:10:32 +0000

Stacey,

Right answer, but suggest a different approach.

There are at-least 8+ companies doing ARM CPUs for servers or for infrastructure in one form or another. QCOM, Samsung, Cavium, Nvidia, Freescale, LSI, AMCC, MRVL, Calxeda,
They have already laid 1 bet with SeaMicro – build integrated systems. I think its best to focus on that and continue to build that business out. Its incremental from technology. It will help build the sales and customer as it can sell them at better margin than Dell and HP.

Around 2015, its quite likely that one or many of these ARM will be living dead. Once the system business has a run rate of >$1B, its time to pick one of the ARM living dead and build out as its going to take till then for the Intel/ARM slug fest to clear.

The infrastructure market is also going vertical (like what has happened in the consumer side).