but your still pretty impressive. i just been reading your back post via your aggregation blog and i find your views really useful so I just wanted to say thanks. I now have an RSS feed of your blog running into LJ so i can keep up on your ideas
thankyou again
X

Looks like AMD will live another day. That is good for the industry. Too bad Hector the wrecker got them into this position by BURNING all AMDs $ on ATI. The FABs where the only thing AMD could sell and they did. I wonder how long it will take for Intel to sue AMD and the new company over the patent license issues.

"Unless folks believe the middle east investors know how to manufacture chips cheaper, the production cost will be the same ..." ... posted by : joe, 08 October 2008 

joe,

The Game Changing move is not about manufacturing chips cheaper, it is in their design being Altogether Different and therefore their BIOS Configuration delivering an Enriched Product ........ which is a Bare Bones Simplification, of course, but Entirely Accurate nevertheless. 

And the Altogether Different dDevelopment is Perfectly Consistent with the Quantum Computing Model in which the QuBit is both 0 and 1 whilst also being neither and each.

I'm not really convinced this was a good idea. Part of what seems to give Intel such an advantage sometimes is a significant process lead on most competitors. A tight integration of the fab with the design should make the pipeline shorter as I understand it. As far as I see this could only make things worse, putting AMD on even footing with all the other scavengers depending on the likes of the TSMC.

About haliburton: I thought they did mostly oil/chemicals, and for the US troops in iraq (food) supplies and such.
And since they are so shifty it's no wonder they would end up in dubai, the place known as the 'anything-goes-no-questions-asked business capital of the world' if I'm not mistaken.

Oh, How time Flys, it was just 4 decades ago Ms. barton introduced Me to Patty Gerstner, Patty Was Kisser & term "Camel Spit" applies so well.

Gerstners where in direct competition with von Drashek in Europe. before Big War.Of Course those Factories are rubble Now.

On Sylvia, someone mentioned, like Patty & Lynn, that jewish Faith is pertainent. Yet with last name of Barack, its seems little More Obvious.

Personally, I'm Physician, so what heck. Its StrawberryPie Day, WorldWide.

Victories Center.
drashek.


Other than cash injection - what really has changed. Have the chip design roadmaps changed? Has the manufacturing cost changed? Will the manufacturing capacity in the next 18 months change?

AMD has now injected foundry margin into the price of their chips so unless the new foundry has figured out a way to make chips cheaper by changing the name on the door, AMD's margins will do down (as they hinted at in an analyst meeting a while back when asked about Asset Smart) or prices will go up to compensate for the additional foundry margin.

Long term things may change with economies of scale but NY is a late 2011/2012 revenue start and F30 will help a bit in 2009 but for the next 18 months nothing significantly changes.

Unless folks believe the middle east investors know how to manufacture chips cheaper, the production cost will be the same and now you get to tack both AMD and foundry margins (instead of just the AMD margin in the past).

And the fundamental problem with ownership of the foundry is that AMD owns 44.4% NOW. With the middle east investors prepared to pump in 3.6-6.4Bil over time what happens to AMD's equity stake (you really think they are going to match those investments). You really think if the equity stake drops under 30%, they will continue to retain 50% voting rights?

Suck IT and See, would appear to be the best course of action for it is most unlikely that Allah will allow anything at all untoward. And as alcohol is not used and/or abused for its brain pickling properties in the Middle East [except clandestinely by nomad Westerners, that is] you don't get the psychopathic delusional God Complex favoured by Bowery Bums and Cokeheads .... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3225636.ece and the Manic Serial Fabricator, whose handler professes they one doesn't do God.

Which spookily enough might mean that one can ..... but probably only in Creation for Destruction has ITs own Special Personal Reward.

AMD has 50% of the votes in the new company even if they only own 44.4%.
As for national security risks after seeing how many politicians took part at yesterday's press conference in NY about the new fab i doubt getting aprouval for the deal will be a problem

I like how security is brought up since coincidentally haliburton's main HQ moved to Dubai and last i heard they managed the majority of US military tech aside from main companies like Lockheed martin and so on. Get with the times. Israel's got a great foundry/fab set its not that bad that others around it are alil jealous and decided to get on board.

Frankly its a great thing, truly fantastic and especially in this time of banks failing and huge loans being non existant. AMD did great, but when they did so well they got into murky waters. once they hit around 20% of the chip sales figure two things happened, they had the best chip and everyone wanted them. They had two choices expand their consumer base and make more deals, or shy away from big contracts and stay a small business for a long time getting rid of debts before making a concerted push for more business. The trouble lies with their chips, if they still had the best chips there would still be demand, they couldn't guarentee that with Intel and billions free to pump into R&D.

So they went the first route, took advantage while the iron was hot and got deals with Dell and other people. The downside of this was the chips they were contractually obliged to produce rose, which gave them significant manufacturing problems and moving to a new process the downtime with so few fabs wasn't possible, compared to Intel who can shut down 2 of their 42 fabs swap them over and get back going with little harm to their numbers.

In other words, they need more fabs, they need investment and they need to be not crippled by lack of supply. The New York fab is all ready to go but funding seemed it wasn't, now they can easily afford to build it, get an extra fab, have far less issues from 65 >45nm than they did 90>65nm(well maybe less problems on the process change after that).

It might well enable them to build a fab/have extra capacity to produce much of their ATi line of cards aswell, saving on outsourcing and not being hampered by things like waiting for the 40nm process at outside fabs to be ready like they are stuck now.

Even in today's climate the key for AMD was expansion and that was always going to cost them in the short term and hopefully pay off in the long term, this move will only help them in those goals. They might be giving up part of the company, but its better to make 40% profits of a 5billion a year company, than 80% profits off a struggling 1billion a year company isn't it ;)

..of AMD as a bunni boiler. Hard to shake once planted in my tender little brain, darnit :-)

(great article thobut)

I just wonder what Jerry has to say about all this? After all, only real men have fabs.