[Video] AMD Previews “Sexy” Notebooks In Fall Lineup

July 21, 2010

AMD's Notebook Line Up for the Back to School season looks sexyer than ever!

In a private event in San Francisco, Calif., yesterday, AMD showcased the Fall fashion lineup of notebooks and desktops based on its VISION technology; mostly dual-core machines with an integrated ATI graphics chips.

AMD designed the VISION programme to simplify the PC buying experience by making it easier for consumers to choose the right computer for them based on what they want to do with the product.

“It wasn’t so long ago that if you wanted to find notebook computer with an AMD processor they were all uniformally very plain – I would hesitate to say ugly but they were plain. But now, the system OEMs (like HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Acer…) have put much effort into designing really pretty boxes that have AMD processors as much as they have moved to have attractive designs around the Intel-based processors… It’s clear now that AMD is now equipped to compete non only the basis of their technology but also on the base of their OEMs design,” explains Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight64.

AMD’s Vision strategy found useful in retail PC shopping

“I think it [Vision] has worked. It’s made it easier for people to go into a store and figure out what kind of computer they want. And to calibrate their own needs with the system capabilities,” adds Brookwood who finds AMD Vision most successful in retail. “The salespeople don’t get a lot of training… and the Vision programme guides people into making smart choices and not under buying or over buying… and from that standpoint I think it [Vision] had simplified the purchasing process and taken some of the mystery about multi-core and discrete GPU out of the equation. And that’s basically good.”

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ATI Faces More Executive Exodus Ahead Of Major Product Launch

August 18, 2009

ATI's former mobile graphics chip boss Phil Eisler is now Nvidias general manager of the 3D Vision business unit

Can ATI stop the talent exodus?

After ATI’s former CEO David Orton, CTO Bob Drebin and other executives and engineers defecting the Canadian outfit, the chipmaker recently lost its senior vice-president and general manager of the chipset and notebook business unit Phil Eisler who was just named last night Nvidia’s general manager of its emerging 3D Vision business unit.

“3D Vision has created immense buzz since its’ launch. The team has brought a very high quality interactive solution to market, at a very affordable price. Gaming, movies and digital photography are all being pushed to a new level with 3D Vision. Phil will be responsible for driving NVIDIA 3D Vision onto a global scale and building it into a key differentiator of GeForce based desktops and notebooks,” said senior vice-president of Nvidia’s GeForce business unit Jeff Fisher in an internal memo.

At AMD/ATI, Esler was responsible for the mobile and integrated product lines, including mobility Radeon graphics processors. He had been at ATI for nearly 15 years.

The funny part is that despite leaving some months ago, when AMD decided to relocate some ATI staff to its Austin, Texas, headquarters, Esler’s bio is still up on ATI’s website. Nostalgia maybe?

ATI will officially launch its next generation graphics chip dubbed “Evergreen” – previously shown at Computex and QuakeCon – on September 10th at the U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda, Calif.

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AMD “Evergreen” Graphics Chips: You Won’t Believe Your Eyes… Nvidia!

August 12, 2009
Can AMD change the game in graphics with its upcoming Evergreen GPUs? Well know on September 10th!

Can AMD change the game in graphics with its upcoming Evergreen GPUs? We'll know on September 10th!

[Update 1] We’ve got confirmation from AMD that the Evergreen cards are being shown this weekend, at the QuakeCon video game convention in Dallas, Texas.

[Update 2] AMD will host its Evergreen’s official launch on aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet moored in Alameda, Calif.

The word is finally out. AMD will launch it’s much anticipated next generation graphics processors code name “Evergreen” on September 10th; ahead of Windows 7′s launch in late October..

For AMD, these 40-nm, Microsoft DX11-compliant GPUs will fundamentally change the graphics industry and give it a clear advantage over Nvidia, again!

The prior generation of ATI cards was such high performance and so cheap that they forced Nvidia to hastily put together competitive video cards.

Sadly, AMD’s Santa Clara, Calif., rival hasn’t shown much of its DX-11 chips yet. However, Nvidia might choose to show off its wares at its own GPU Technology conference at the end of September in San Jose.

The GPU market is finally kicking some tires, just in time for the holiday season!

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Why Buy A Netbook When Full-Size Notebooks Cost $300

July 1, 2009
Frys bargain du jour was this eMachines full size notebook for $299

Fry's bargain du jour was this eMachines full size notebook for $299

Although, it’s common now to find most electronics retail stores stocked with Intel Atom-based netbooks selling below $300 and sometimes below $200, it’s definitely unusual to see a full size notebook like the eMachines eMD625 for a mere $300.

So when Fry’s Electronics advertised it yesterday for $299 (plus tax and CA recycling fee) – a $70 off from its regular price – I rushed to its Sunnyvale, CA store location to pick up the bargain “du jour” to try it out!

The laptop – built by Taiwanese-maker Acer - specifications look quite good for the price:

  1. 15.6″ WXGA LCD screen, Wi-Fi, USB, 5-in-1 memory card reader but no webcam
  2. AMD Athlon 64 TF-20 1.6GHz (single core), 2GB Ram Memory, ATI Radeon Xpress 1200 Graphics
  3. 250GB SATA hard disk
  4. DVD player
  5. a full-size keyboard plus numerical pad
  6. and Windows Vista Home Basic
After taxes and the CA recycling fee, I end up paying $343 for the $299 laptop

After taxes and the CA recycling fee, I end up paying $343 for the $299 laptop

Yet more powerful, larger (and heavier!) than the HP mini-note or Acer Aspire One that were placed next to it on Fry’s shelves, the eMachines eMD625 laptop is certainly not a powerhouse despite ATI’s integrated graphics chip: 2 videos running simultaneously (YouTube, ESPN360, Hulu, DVD) are un-watchable. Of course, you could question the need for that too. Although I haven’t tried watching an HD movie on it but my guess is that it won’t work well either.

But some of the overall slow performance could be caused by Windows Vista, which should be a thing of the past as soon as I install Xandros’ Presto on it and Windows 7 (keep fingers crossed).

All in all, the eMachines eMD625 is a decent full-size laptop for the price, good for office, Web and light multimedia (video, imaging, music/iTunes).

Of course, not everybody looking for a thin and light netbook will be happy with this 6 pounds notebook. But I’m sure my Mom wouldn’t mind swapping her old PC with this laptop :-)

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AMD Posts $740 Million Operating Loss And Dismal Outlook; Is Bankruptcy Looming?

January 22, 2009

The bad news in the tech sector in general – and the semiconductor in particular – keeps on coming.

AMD today posts a record $1.4 billion loss – including a non-cash charge of $684 million associated with its 2006 acquisition of graphics maker ATI – on revenues of $1.16 billion, much lower than the company’s self-imposed breakeven point of $1.5 billion.

AMD also said it will try to breakeven next quarter. But how?

The worst is still to come

Looking ahead, AMD expects sales to continue to drop citing computer makers “severe” downward inventory correction in reaction to the economic crisis.

At this point, AMD might have to look at a $1 billion or less breakeven point, meaning unfortunately much more cuts or divestitures to come.  But with only $320 million in the bank, time is running out.

The company hopes to close its deal with Abu Dhabi investors next month, bringing over $1 billion in cash into AMD itself. Just enough to survive one or two more quarters at this rate of losses.

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