AMD vs Intel: the great debate

There has been a great war waged over the past 12 to 18 months. This war has seen old hats fall from their pedestal and the new fat cats eat the competition alive.

AMD, for a considerable period of time prior to the past 12 to 18 months, held the majority of the aces. The Athlon64 was substantially more efficient both in regards to performance and power usage in comparison to Intel’s Net Burst architecture.

Comparatively and throughout the large proportion of benchmarks and applications, Net Burst based Pentium 4 processors were akin to a three legged Chihuahua in a Greyhound race.

With Athlon64 single core processors and the Athlon64 X2 range of dual core processors ruling the desktop scene and the Opteron range growing ever so steadily and consistently in the server space, AMD were looking good. That was right up until Intel acknowledged Net Burst’s shortcomings and moved to develop a micro-architecture with more in common with the mobile Pentium-M and desktop Pentium III, than was seen in the Pentium 4 series.

Intel hit hard, frighteningly hard, when it released the Core micro-architecture. Releasing the ‘Core’ range across the mobile, desktop and server markets, Intel struck with vengeance. After being beaten in performance, power usage and waste heat output (TDP), the Core micro-architecture signalled the beginning of a new era.

Now, with Intel’s ever growing SKU range taking over as much of the market share in any and every imaginable sector it can, AMD appears to be in danger and treading on very thin ice.

Having had its performance crown removed, thrown from the throne and back among the masses, it has come time for a rather delayed fight back. A surge for the position of top dog was in order from AMD, especially after not only being beaten, but trampled. From this, the need for redevelopment was demanded from both consumers and the channel.

In retaliation AMD spent copious amounts of resources developing the ‘Barcelona’ core processors. These have recently debuted in the Opteron 2300 series. The new processors boast improved efficiency in performance, reduced waste heat output as well as the introduction of a quad core product to AMD’s range.

These improvements were the result of a combination of a new micro-architecture design as well as a processor die manufacturing process shrink from 90nm down to 65nm. This effectively put AMD’s Opteron 2300 series on the same page as Intel’s 65nm quad core processors, code named Kentsfield, which have been available for months.

The big question at hand is not whether these new processors are capable of competing at this point in the game, but whether they can perform long term over the product’s life cycle.

Barcelona is currently up against Intel’s Kentsfield quad core range of Core-based offerings. And if being up against a well respected and high performing platform wasn’t hard enough already, Intel will be launching its 45nm quad core processors based on the Yorkfield core in a number
of weeks.

AMD has taken a large amount of time, that it didn’t really have, to develop a processor that appears to only just perform on par (if not at times below) a processor that has been on the market for a solid
12 months.

Add to this the fact that it now needs to stand firm against an oncoming die shrink and a micro-architecture design update destined to reign in considerable performance gains in the form of Intel’s ‘Yorkfield’ quad core processors – it appears that AMD are in very dangerous waters.

In the coming months we will be seeing the release of AMD’s entry into the desktop scene in the form of ‘Phenom’, based on the Barcelona core. Just like it’s Opteron 2300 series brethren, the Phenom platform not only needs to compete with current ‘Kentfield’ and ‘Conroe’ based quad and dual cores processors, it will also be competing with the forthcoming 45nm based ‘Yorkfield’ and ‘Wolfdale’ power houses.

Sit tight, hold firm and be set for what is going to be not only a wild ride but one hell of a showdown.

Josh Collins, technical writer for Atomic magazine is feelin’ the anxiety, frustration and anticipation. Fuel the fire that is the consumer outburst! jcollins@atomicmpc.com.au

amd debate great hardware intel the vs