AMD Rumored to Discontinue Performance CPU's After Piledriver

[DemonDragonJ]

I just found this (http://wccftech.com/amd-rumored-discontinue-performance-cpus-piledriver-focus-apu-development/) news article today, and its message is very negative and deeply disturbing:
A day ago VR-Zone reported that AMD had cancelled their desktop Piledriver processors codenamed Vishera however latest reports suggest that Piledriver would launch but would be the last of performance CPU’s from AMD.

OBR’s the news breaker who acquired some internal documents of AMD which show that the company would discontinue its performance processors for desktop market after launch of Vishera. From them, AMD would focus more towards the development of its APU’s (Accelerated Processing Units) which are doing quite well against competitor Intel.

AMD’s performance offering such as Bulldozer didn’t do well against Intel’s Sandy Bridge and same is being said about the upcoming Piledriver architecture which doesn’t has sufficient IPC improvements to tackle Haswell or even the recently launched Ivy Bridge processors. The last of performance processors we would see from AMD would be the FX 8200/8300 series after which the series would be discontinued.

We still can’t confirm how legitimate the source is since there has been no word on this by AMD themselves but for now it seems as if Steamroller and Excavator are just names to be remembered in the performance market, their core architecture would still be used in APU development. On AMD’s APU’s forefront, we would be looking at Trinity and later on Kaveri which would be the 3rd generation APU based on 28nm Richland architecture featuring new HSA improvements and Sea Islands IGP chipsets, For more details, browse here.Source (http://wccftech.com/amd-rumored-discontinue-performance-cpus-piledriver-focus-apu-development/)

I am very displeased by this news, as it means, if it is true, that AMD shall no longer be producing high-performance microprocessors, essentially surrendering that market to Intel and giving their rival a complete monopoly in that market. As a strong supporter of AMD, I dearly hope that this news is not true, as I enjoy using AMD products in my systems, and value their presence as a competitor to Intel. If AMD ceases producing high-performance CPU's, Intel will have the freedom to charge whatever prices they desire for their products, and it shall also mean that all high-performance CPU's in the future will automatically be Intel CPU's; AMD will be relegated to the "poor man's processor," an option for users who do not have the money to afford a high-performance Intel CPU, akin to (to use automobiles as an example) Maserati and Lamborghini ceasing production of high-performance vehicles, leaving Ferrari as the only producer manufacturer of high-performance cars. I have made it my intention to always use AMD processors in all my computers, and never use Intel processors, but it seems that my options in the future shall be either "high-performance" or "AMD," but I shall never again be able to have both simultaneously.

Forgive me for being so emotional on this subject, but there is much at stake here; AMD may possibly surrender the high-performance CPU market to Intel, which, in my mind, is the equivalent of the Rebel Alliance surrendering to the Galactic Empire or the United Federation of Planets surrendering to the Borg, a decision that would be very bad for both them (AMD) and consumers. Surely, they must realize the folly of such a decision?

What does everyone else here have to say about this news? Do you share my sense of dread regarding it? Is there anything that can be done to prevent such an occurrence from happening? I await you responses.

[slaveofconvention]

It's got to be hard for a company to be so apparently incapable of competing. I have one of the bulldozer CPUs in my main PC, and it replaced a (then close to top of the line) intel Q6700 so I don't really have any formal CPU loyalty.

I can understand AMD's position if the above is true - "We know we can't win this race, so let's concentrate on the stuff which still makes us good money" - they are, after all, a business and the dollar is mighty....

[mDust]

It's hard to know what they're thinking. Perhaps they are simply defining their niche. Perhaps they are short on resources and do need to concentrate them on a specific product line. Perhaps they are cleverly trying to get Intel to let their guard down. Perhaps it's a completely false rumor.

They must be hemorrhaging money out of their high-end line if they're considering shutting it down completely though. I did hear they didn't do so hot the last quarter or two. Poor, poor AMD...no pun intended.

[DemonDragonJ]

It's hard to know what they're thinking. Perhaps they are simply defining their niche. Perhaps they are short on resources and do need to concentrate them on a specific product line. Perhaps they are cleverly trying to get Intel to let their guard down. Perhaps it's a completely false rumor.

Well, according to this (http://wccftech.com/amd-piledriver-fxvishera-core-frequencies-confirmed-flagship-fx8350-throttles-upto-42ghz/) diagram that I located, AMD's "Piledriver" series of desktop CPU's shall soon be available, and their specifications seem to be very impressive, indeed, so perhaps they shall help AMD to gain greater revenue, and perhaps not need to cancel their next series of processors (the "Steamroller" series).

[TheGreatSatan]

Intel still wins in performance, but we do sell a ton a AMD CPU's. You'd think that it woud be more cost effective to leave the FX line available for purchase

[Cale_Hagan]

i have seen piledriver at CES 2012 in January. can't tell you anything, other than it looks promising. :santa: as for the rumor, i heard they just hired a new lead architect back for chip design. he was the top guy back when amd was kicking intel down a few good notches, so lets just hope it's a "we are going to cancel this, and have this guy totally redesign our road map and plans for us." :whistler:

[DemonDragonJ]

i have seen piledriver at CES 2012 in January. can't tell you anything, other than it looks promising. :santa: as for the rumor, i heard they just hired a new lead architect back for chip design. he was the top guy back when amd was kicking intel down a few good notches, so lets just hope it's a "we are going to cancel this, and have this guy totally redesign our road map and plans for us." :whistler:

Yes, that is my hope, as well; apparently, Jim Keller was a very major figure at AMD in the past, so I do hope that his return can help AMD to reclaim their former glory, similar to Bill Gates returning to Microsoft, David Ellefson rejoining Megadeth, or the Blues Brothers reforming.