Competition is the loser in the chip wars
As Intel prepares to launch the 3GHz chip that will cement its market dominance, Martin Lynch mourns the decline of rival AMD.
Is the processor war over? Not by a long shot, but sadly the winner is in no doubt. Intel, which always had the lion's share of the market, has pulled further ahead of AMD.
With the world's first 3GHz chip on the horizon, Intel is set to steam on further, which is bad for the industry. Competition is vital for the channel, businesses and consumers.
Maybe size has a lot to do with it; Intel weathered the storm much more easily than AMD. Size aside, Intel is going to win because it has trounced AMD in the most important battle of all: marketing.
Look in the high street technology stores and car park-based superstores and see which vendor's processors are most evident. Finding AMD-based PCs in the consumer arena is like looking for a dodo.
And what will be like when the 3GHz juggernaut arrives? In the run-up to Christmas consumers are finally set to start spending again and, when the 3GHz hits, there will be some serious cost cutting on existing Intel 2GHz chips.
This will result in cheaper, more powerful PCs for the business environment, which should help kick-start stalled business spending.
Those who know anything about PCs know that clock speed is not the best way of gauging system performance. In fact, AMD's recently announced Athlon XP 2400+ and 2600+ processors have already earned some excellent reviews.
They might clock in at just over 2GHz, but they can compete with Intel processors in the mid-2GHz range.
AMD chips perform well and are always cheaper than Intel's top processors but, since we live in a world ruled by a few dominant players, brainwashing ad campaigns and heavy-handed tactics with distributors and outlets, the smaller player doesn't stand a chance.
In AMD's favour, a deal with Hewlett Packard to supply processors for a new business range of PCs, and India lifting its Intel-only rule for government spending, are promising.
But are they enough? For the sake of competition I hope so, but it's not likely. AMD has been a thorn in Intel's side for a while, but the firm has struggled to get through the past year.
Even when things get better for IT they won't necessarily improve for AMD. Its market share has slipped and shows little sign of recovering, at least in the short term.
Intel recently said that its third-quarter results will not be as good as expected, but that doesn't mean they will be bad.
By contrast, AMD has been reporting losses which suggest that the company will not break even this year. The outlook, like this year's weather, is very grim indeed.