AMD processors vs Intel in fight for Apple Mac future

Rumor has it that Apple is thinking seriously about using AMD processors in future Macs. Could Steve Jobs be serious, or is it a ruse to get better terms out of Intel? In IT Blogwatch, bloggers speculate to accumulate.

By Richi Jennings. April 20, 2010.
(AMD) (AAPL) (INTC)

Your humble blogwatcher selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention how to open a YouTube video...
 
 
Kasper Jade and Prince McLean clean up the rumors:

Representatives for ... AMD have recently been seen on Apple's Commuter Coach buses, and ... have been spotted on their way out of meetings with members of Apple's top brass. ... Have reportedly ... enabled Apple to begin working with AMD processors ... to position the chips inside some of the company's forthcoming products. ... Apple is believed to be investigating the chipmaker's workstation and notebook class CPUs.
...
Having multiple sources of CPUs would enable Apple to use the best parts available. ... It may now make sense for the company to offer a wider array of ... options to target [more] price points. ... The talks with AMD could also be part of a competitive leveraging strategy to keep Intel interested in retaining Apple's core business.

Paul Lilly is in the pink:

[It's] a move that would end a four year relationship with Intel.
...
Intel is said to be having trouble keeping up with demand for its new family of Core mobile processors, ... largely ... the result of big orders from Acer. And ... Intel's new chip designs could hamper Apple's plans to continue its partnership with Nvidia.

Anton Shilov exhibits bits:

Given that AMD is about a year away from its processors code-named Bulldozer (Zambezi) and Fusion (Llano), ... [this] may indicate that the chips provide high enough performance for desktops and notebooks. ... Considering the fact that current AMD ... CPUs cannot offer competitive performance ... it is more than likely that the talks were held about the future microprocessors from AMD ... [and] hybrid Fusion CPUs with integrated graphics cores.
...
AMD’s ATI graphics unit ... supplies chipsets with integrated graphics engines, which by far outperform solutions from Intel. Moreover, that lead is projected to increase.

Of course, it's David Stellmack; off course?

Of course, this goes hand in hand with the ... unhappiness of fruit nation with the Intel integrated graphics offerings that are part of a good number of Apple’s current offerings.
...
Of course there is idle talk from other sources ... that right now there are [only] “technology briefings” ... and any thought that Apple might switch to AMD ... is pure speculation. ... [Nothing] more than wishful thinking by [AMD] fanboys.

But Joel Hruska has déjà vu:

Many of the juiciest or interesting rumors don't appear so much as reappear ... much as a comet orbits a star ... with a long tail of juicy speculation flowing out behind it. ... It would be much more surprising if AMD didn't attempt to show off its new products to Apple. ... AMD needs Fusion to wow OEMs when it finally comes to market. ... To catch people's attention, Apple is the company you court.
...
The real question is, is there a reason for Apple to be interested in AMD? ... [AMD] could try to offer its quad-core Llano parts at a better price than Intel's dual-core Core i3 series. ... Possible, but it doesn't seem likely. ... We're betting Apple will stay an Intel-only house for the foreseeable future.

And Anders Bylund offers a foolish geography lesson:

The companies' ... headquarters are just 5.5 miles apart if you cut through Ponderosa Park on Wolfe and Sunnyvale-Saratoga, so we're not talking cross-country schlepping.
...
However ... Apple is known to grab components from multiple sources wherever possible, ... memory chips ... graphics engines ... LCD screens ... and so on. Multi-sourcing the Mac's main processor would simply extend that strategy.

So what's your take?
Get involved: leave a comment.
 
 
And finally...

• Hey, guys
  [hat tip: Queen Pickle, via Mark Frauenfelder]

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him as @richi on Twitter, or richij on FriendFeed, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itblogwatch@richij.com.

 
 
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