Anyone remember the 486 days when AMD was the chip to avoid?

[webe3]

I remember when Intel ruled the roost! I had a 486 DX100 and thought I was hot stuff baby! (a little Austin Powers humor) I had wing commander 3 and the movie it played was an awesome thing to me! But I also remember how everyone wanted nothing to do with AMD chips!! It seemed back then they were not a very stable chip at all!! People kept complaining that on some games the chip kept locking up and the screen would freeze! Does anyone here remember those days??( I think there were three chip makers back then, Cyrix AMD and Intel....don't remember any others!)I think that Cyrix was even WORSE than AMD if I am remembering correctly! AMD has sure come a long way since then! Now they are going head to head with Intel. But back then, they were kinda like a red-headed stepchild! Nobody wanted anything to do with them! Heres another thing I am wondering, does anybody remember the time that AMD came out with their first stable chip?? I know this is going to take some of you back down memory lane, but I thought it would be a good topic for discussion.

[drpeterbright]

You've come a long way baby and still can not get the respect that you deserve. Perhaps a constitutional amendment can equalize the matter.

[webe3]

Yeah, I was thinking that myself! Perhaps a new virginia slims commercial........????

[drpeterbright]

It's difficult to erase a bad image from people's minds. I think this is a good example. If AMD really wants to foul up, all they need to do is bring a buggy proc to market.

[CuriousMan]

I'll give them a lot of credit for hanging in there. Intel really is a Goliath compared to AMD. Thank goodness they are in the marketplace or everyone would really be paying through the nose.

The preliminary reports on the K8 looks very promising. Good gracious, I hope it goes over well in the marketplace because they really do need to start making some money.

The last thing I want is AMD to go the route of Motorola. Whew, the consumer would big the biggest loser of all.

[drpeterbright]

If we buy them it helps, but if businesses as a group switches it would be a landslide victory.

[CuriousMan]

Agreed. HP agreement to carry the line will help some. The also have a pretty good Sun Blade implementation if they agree to use them.
Linux ports to x86-64 will definitely help as well.

I'm hoping anyway...

The K8 platform will really start to take off in the next implementation when DDRII memory is introduced, I believe. By then I'm hoping AMD has made enough money to allow them to easily migrate to the .09 micron process.

These are exciting times for technology....if only the market would recognize it and take advantage...

I lot of people have been patiently waiting...(uh - yeah, me).

[Ehhe Yebeb]

Lets not forget however the clawhammer is not going to be cheap, and neither is the opteron, which im guessing will be equal to or above Xeon prices, which are quite high. Also it wasnt only the 486 days, the K6, K6II and K6III werent so good, but once the athlon came out things were alot better, even the duron performs pretty well. What you dont want to happen is intel gaining heaps of market sure because of the K8 and then raising prices. Although that is pretty unlikely, but just thinking about it, AMD could make their XP's just as expensive as the P4 and the consumer couldnt do a thing about it, in my mind duopolies are almost as bad for the consumer as monopolies, but AMD is playing it nicely at the moment, so the customer is able to benefit.

[drpeterbright]

You are 100% correct and we should reward them for playing nice by giving them our business.

[CuriousMan]

I would venture AMD will place the K8 at considerably cheaper price points than the Xeon's. Will they be dirt cheap. I hope not...they do need to make money (and I hope they do as a reward for their good efforts).

Will they be affordable and a good value for the money. Yes, I believe they will. AMD needs to agressively price their products because they have very little market penetration in comparison with Intel. And as we all know, OEM support is near non-existent.

So, I think it is safe to assume the pricing will be reasonable. Intel will certainly do its level best to apply its consideration pressure in the market to make it so.

Duopolies....yes, now that would be everyone's worst nightmare wouldn't it. Whew, if ever such a colusion were formulated and discovered it could well be the death nail to the high-tech industry.

Let's hope they have enough sense to realize this.

[drpeterbright]

Yeah, no one really in place to compete with the two of them.

[CuriousMan]

So very true. Now that Motorola has pretty much left the market. VIA is still a very minor player. China will eventually become a player, they are just beginning to explore the possibilities.

The other players in the field are catering to specialized market segments with their products (costly, too).

So, AMD and Intel are pretty much it for the consumer market. Again not to discount VIA, because some people love their products for building noiseless systems (or very near noiseless).

I think VIA will improve...looking at the specs for their next product line is not too bad. Considering Intel just announce they will stop productionof the P!!!. I think VIA will probably pick up where this product niche left off.

[drpeterbright]

Again consumers are so warped in their thinking in the first place as they seldom need the speed that either AMD or Intel are supplying. Everyone wants th have the fastest, the best, the biggest & the baddest. Shhhhh - someone may catch on soon.

[webe3]

Yeah, the AMD share of the market is growing, but that of course doesn't make Intel the "bad" chip! I think there is room for BOTH! It is what keeps the prices DOWN and that is what we as consumers want! I hope that NEITHER Intel OR AMD gain a HUGE market share over the other, because as it is now, prices are being kept in check by the competition and it also keeps each company pressing forward with innovation....something that the Chipset makers would have little of if either one controlled the market totally! (what woulkd be the point of making faster chips if you already were selling to as many people as you could??) So I think the answer lies in competition....good for business and consumers....but AMD has.... COME A LONG WAY....BABY! (Now where is their new virginia slims commercial???)

[webe3]

So very true. Now that Motorola has pretty much left the market. VIA is still a very minor player. China will eventually become a player, they are just beginning to explore the possibilities.

The other players in the field are catering to specialized market segments with their products (costly, too).

So, AMD and Intel are pretty much it for the consumer market. Again not to discount VIA, because some people love their products for building noiseless systems (or very near noiseless).

I think VIA will improve...looking at the specs for their next product line is not too bad. Considering Intel just announce they will stop productionof the P!!!. I think VIA will probably pick up where this product niche left off.

Of course AMD was once in VIAs spot! Everyone has to start someplace! Who knows....mabye VIA chips will be the next AMD?????