Dell may finally be biting the AMD hook

Rob Updegrove 21 Nov, 2005 at 9:36am ET Article published in Tech

Forbes reports that Dell Inc is lining up its suppliers in order to begin rolling out AMD processor-based servers.

Dell Inc has informed its Taiwan contract makers of plans to develop devices based on Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s microprocessors, and these suppliers are awaiting orders for global shipment, the Economic Daily News reported, citing industry sources.

Maybe they’re getting a clue as to how they can get back to the good side of revenue trends.

Source: Forbes

Comments

21 Nov 2005 ~ 10:59am Shorty We shall wait and see huh... you'l excuse me if I don't scream from the hilltops, sourcing is one thing.. selling is another
21 Nov 2005 ~ 2:07pm QCH I called Dell a few weeks ago to get a quote on a Precision 670 workstation and complained that they should really have AMD CPU's available... they must have listened to me
21 Nov 2005 ~ 2:46pm profdlp Give yourself a pat on the back, QCH.

Like shorty, I'm curious to see if these will be actively pushed, or merely "available".
21 Nov 2005 ~ 3:21pm Shorty Actually, im more interested to see if a company the size of DELL is just building strategic agreements for r&d processes.

They could well be looking at AMD and having now base evaluated it, decided to take a step further and look at manufacturing costs, yield & TCO for a product line.

This does in no way mean they will ever get to market.
21 Nov 2005 ~ 3:27pm Leonardo

Shorty wrote:

Actually, im more interested to see if a company the size of DELL is just building strategic agreements for r&d processes.

They could well be looking at AMD and having now base evaluated it, decided to take a step further and look at manufacturing costs, yield & TCO for a product line.

This does in no way mean they will ever get to market.

I'm a bit more cynical. Dell is trying once again to squeeze more concessions out of Intel by threatening to play the AMD card. Dell pulls this fit in front of Intel every so often. When Intel gives them their way, Dell forgets what it says about AMD.
21 Nov 2005 ~ 3:28pm primesuspect Ars, as usual, has a really good write up on this.
21 Nov 2005 ~ 3:40pm profdlp Nice link, primesie. The Apple angle is something I hadn't considered, and is quite interesting.

There are lots of theories on economics, but one I happen to agree with is that to truly avoid a monopoly you need three players in the game. With just two it's easy to reach a stalemate situation where each side can survive merely by defending their own turf. I believe this is what we have now between companies like Dell who are closely allied with Intel (mainstream market) and outfits with closer ties to AMD (hobbyists and value-conscious consumers).

With a third viable option (Apple) in the mix as a swing vote (and somewhat of a wild card), it will force those aligned with either of the two big CPU manufacturers to stay on their toes. All the better for us little guys - if it happens.
21 Nov 2005 ~ 3:50pm Shorty Heresay.. heresay.. heresay.. again.. surprise .. surprise
21 Nov 2005 ~ 5:30pm Leonardo

Early this year, Dell chief executive officer Kevin Rollins put speculation that it might use AMD chips in some systems to rest, saying it had again opted to maintain its Intel-only stand.

AMD card is played. Intel acquiesces.

With a third viable option (Apple) in the mix as a swing vote (and somewhat of a wild card), it will force those aligned with either of the two big CPU manufacturers to stay on their toes. All the better for us little guys - if it happens.

I completely agree with you. A powerful Apple computer maker (who cares about the gadgets) would advance the rest of industry due to sheer competition.
21 Nov 2005 ~ 10:29pm GrayFox Dam all of suns ads just became useless.

There still cool tho
http://www.sun.com/emrkt/rejected/