chips
Where AMD is trouncing Intel
April 11, 2013: 7:14 AM ETChipmaker AMD hasn't had it easy. Now three of tech's most powerful companies have embraced it for the long-term.
FORTUNE -- With its processors in 83% of PCs, Intel (INTC) overwhelmingly dominates traditional personal computing. But there's one area where the chip giant won't be winning any time soon: game consoles. If reports prove correct, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) could manage what its competitor hasn't: getting its chips into all three of the major next-generation consoles.
Nintendo's (NTDOY) Wii U console, launched last fall, already packs a version of AMD's Radeon graphics chipset. (Its CPU, however, is made by IBM (IBM).) At Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 event this February, the Japanese giant revealed that its upcoming console would sport an eight-core processor based on the company's "Jaguar" design, combining the CPU and graphics capabilities on one silicon wafer. And Bloomberg recently reported that Microsoft's (MSFT) next-generation Xbox console, which will likely be announced on May 21, will use an AMD Jaguar processor not unlike the PlayStation 4's.
What would achieving this kind of trifecta really mean? It may be a boon for developers, making it easier to develop for multiple consoles -- particularly the PlayStation 4 and next-gen Xbox -- simultaneously. It would be an even bigger win for AMD. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., the semiconductor company had a rough 2012, losing two high-profile executives -- senior vice president and chief information officer Mike Wolfe, and corporate vice president for global information technology Trevor Schulze -- as well as seeing its revenues drop 17% with a net loss of nearly $1.2 billion.
MORE: 9 features the next Xbox must have
That earnings drop is largely due to Intel's stranglehold on the PC market. Of course, the traditional PC market itself also isn't what it used to be: Worldwide shipments of PCs fell 14% during the first quarter of 2013. It marked the fourth consecutive quarter of decline and worst PC sales drop in history, squeezing AMD's bottom line. AMD is currently trying to pull off a turnaround. During the third quarter of 2012, it initiated a company restructuring, placing less emphasis on sluggish PC sales and focusing on areas of opportunity, including the $67 billion global video game market. The company hopes all-in-one products like its Jaguar chip will become a larger part of the business, from just 5% of overall revenues today to nearly 20% in 2014 -- after the arrivals of the PlayStation 4 and next-gen Xbox.
How those consoles will fare is another question entirely. While the current generation has seen some wild success, including the best-selling Xbox and Nintendo's original Wii, what will happen with new hardware is anybody's guess. Developers, for one, have expressed doubts about console gaming's future. What's more, the proliferation of devices like Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and Google (GOOG) Android-powered smartphones and tablets has changed consumers' gaming habits. And though PC sales have been dim, gaming on that platform seems to have entered a renaissance of sorts. Retail prices for the next Playstation and Xbox -- which could cost as much as $500 each -- have yet to be revealed; Nintendo's Wii U costs $299.
Still, AMD is so bullish on its new direction that vice president Roy Taylor recently told the hardware blog Bit-Tech that he sees the company following in the footsteps of Apple (AAPL) and IBM (IBM), becoming another rare example of a successful tech turnaround. That sounds like the kind of bravado-laced boast one might hear from a friend while playing a video game. At the very least, getting its chips into every major video game console does give AMD a rare opportunity: another shot.
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The next chip battleground: Data centers
Diminutive smartphone chips will help power-hungry data centers cut down on costs.
FORTUNE -- The next time you upload a photo to Facebook, consider this: All those pictures have to be processed and stored somewhere, presumably forever. Some 3 million data centers occupy more than 600 million square feet of space in the U.S. alone to help do so. Trouble is, a single location can slurp as much power as a MORE
Michal Lev-Ram, writer - Dec 12, 2012 5:00 AM ET -
4 moves Intel's next CEO must make
The tech giant faces difficulties ahead as the chip market changes. Here's what the company's next leader must do.
By Kevin Kelleher, contributor
FORTUNE -- Anyone care to run an $54 billion-a-year tech giant? Anyone have any good ideas how to get it growing again? Intel is looking for a new CEO to take the reins at the Silicon Valley icon next May, when Paul Otellini steps down from the job.
Since Otellini became MORE
Dec 5, 2012 7:27 AM ET -
Intel's (latest) mobile comeback
CEO Paul Otellini thinks he's finally found a way to get Intel into the mobile game. Will phone makers take his call?
FORTUNE -- There are two kinds of CEOs: Those who love the spotlight and those who hate it. Paul Otellini, chief executive officer of Intel, falls into the latter category. But in January, as he stood in front of several thousand people at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las MORE
Michal Lev-Ram, writer - Feb 21, 2012 5:00 AM ET -
Intel's sunny vision for the cloud
The chipmaker wants to standardize online computing. Will the rest of the industry get on board?
Can Intel do for cloud computing what it did for Wi-Fi? The chip company helped usher in ubiquitous wireless broadband seven years ago when it introduced its Centrino wireless platform for laptop computers and then teamed up with PC makers and hot spot operators such as Borders (BGP) and Hilton to evangelize Wi-Fi to consumers. MORE
Michal Lev-Ram, writer - Jan 12, 2011 5:00 AM ETPosted in: Amazon.com, chipmakers, chips, Cloud Builders, cloud computing, Google, Intel, Open Data Center Alliance, Salesforce.com, The Cloud -
How Intel changed its tune on tablets
The chip maker was gung-ho when the market looked small and the iPad was predicted to sell just OK. Now that it's booming, Intel says tablets are important, but not that important yet.
One thing about Intel's strategy when it comes to tablets and its Atom family of mobile processors: it ain't what it used to be.
Even though Intel (INTC) reported strong third quarter results, analysts have speculated the strength of MORE
Shelley DuBois, writer-reporter - Oct 22, 2010 2:13 PM ETPosted in: Android, Apple, ARM architecture, chips, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Atom, Intel Corporation, iPad, MeeGo, Mobile, Paul Otellini, Personal computer, Steve Jobs, Tablet, Tablet computer, Tablets -
How Intel plans to thrive in a post-PC world
Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO, says revenue and earnings growth are poised to double. How? By going after every gadget on earth.
Facing a burgeoning market for all manner of computing, from notebooks to smartphones, tablets and even cars, Intel (INTC) CEO Paul Otellini projected Tuesday that both earnings and revenue would grow in "the low double digits over the next few years." Current growth rates are roughly half that. When asked MORE
Michael V. Copeland, Senior Writer - May 11, 2010 2:17 PM ET -
Intel's latest headache: Nvidia
The chip giant settled with AMD. But another rival is making noise about anticompetitive behavior.
You'd think Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang would be happy.
After bumping along as low as $7 a share at the beginning of the year his stock is up near $14. Several months ago Apple (AAPL) began using his graphics chipset – a group of circuits designed to work together – across nearly its entire line of Macs, MORE
Jon Fortt - Dec 4, 2009 6:22 AM ET -
The chip company that dares to battle Intel
It's 9:30 A.M. on a Friday in Cambridge, England, and ARM CEO Warren East looks annoyed. Bloomberg has just reported that UBS has downgraded his company's stock to a sell. The news is plausible, since ARM (which used to stand for Advanced RISC Machine) depends on the troubled cellphone market. But it turns out that Bloomberg simply got the wrong ARM. "They confused us with a South African mining company" MORE
Jon Fortt - Jul 16, 2009 11:00 AM ET
