Originally Posted by
8bit
I'd reckon AMD are taking a different approach to Intel based on the merger with ATI. Intel are still concentrating on churning out faster and faster CPUs. If what I've read on the AMD/ATI merger is right (or at least, if I understood it right), AMD are looking to put GPU's in socket format directly onto dual socket motherboards and have the CPU and GPU communicate directly over HyperTransport.
This would fit with AMD's tradition of doing things more efficiently rather than just making current things faster. Until now at least, AMD chips tended to outperform similarly specced Intel models at the same or lower clock rates, which is by way of more efficient architecture. Intel are more of a one-trick pony in this respect, making the CPU go as fast as they can and hoping the rest of the industry keeps up. They're still flogging the dead horse known as FSB for god's sake... :rolleyes:
I'm keen to see how AMD's approach pans out. I don't think they've lost the battle with Intel by a long, long way yet. Intel may have the faster CPUs just now but as I said, AMD have a history of reorganising their architecture (and that of the supporting hardware - on-die memory controllers, HyperTransport to name but two examples) and given the law of diminishing returns on throwing more compute power into the CPU, I'd reckon they've got tricks up their sleeve for a long time to come.