AMD Shuffles Cards In Bid To Get Back In Black

To prove that Barcelona has really arrived, AMD unveiled five new energy-efficient quad-core Opterons just days after Allen's briefing. The new chips sit in the 55-watt ACP thermal envelope, making them AMD's lowest power quad-core server processors to date.

Dubbed Opteron HE (highly efficient) processors, three new chips are available in the 2300 series -- model numbers 2344 HE, 2346 HE and 2347 HE -- and two in the 8300 series -- 8346 HE and 8346 HE -- for two-way, four-way and eight-way rack servers and blades, according to AMD. In two-processor and four-processor configurations, AMD is touting the performance of the Opteron HE chips on energy efficiency benchmarks such as SPECfp_rate2006.

On the client side, AMD kicked off the second quarter with its first batch of triple-core Phenom chips and the debut of its first desktop platform aimed at commercial installations. The triple-cores give AMD an intriguing product to slot in between its dual-core Athlon and quad-core Phenom desktop chips, said Matt Wilkins, a principal analyst at research firm iSuppli.

"Quad-core is going to be at the high end of desktop CPUs. The triple-core will be at the lower end of the high end and encroaching on the mainstream. I think that it's been priced by AMD to fit into that area fairly well," Wilkins said.

"The tri-core product is an interesting offering. Clearly Intel doesn't have one."

The commercial desktop platform, codenamed Hardcastle, is part of the AMD Business Class initiative, which will also include commercial notebooks based on AMD's upcoming Puma mobile platform, projected for availability in the second quarter. The initial desktop offerings from AMD and its partners are generally tailored for SMB, mid-market and public-sector deployments, while enterprise-class SKUs will be available later, said Hal Speed, an AMD marketing executive. "The two important components of AMD Business Class are that it meets both the unique needs of OEMs and the unique needs of system builders," Speed said.

Large computer manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer, Lenovo and Fujitsu-Siemens have committed to building Hardcastle-based commercial desktop systems. HP, for example, has already announced two new AMD Business Class models, the HP Compaq dc5850 Business Desktop PC, available worldwide May 5 with a starting U.S. list price of $599, and the HP Compaq dx2450, currently available in North America with a starting US list price of $369. The HP Compaq dx2355 will also be available in the Asia-Pacific market later this quarter.

AMD has suffered financially in the past year-and-a-half, with product delays and costs associated with the company's acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI taking their toll. AMD's plan for living up to CEO Hector Ruiz's promise of profitability by the end of the third quarter combines strategic trimming of assets and personnel with the growth of new product lines and marketing initiatives, while solidifying its OEM relationships and signaling to the channel that it's ready to play ball in the commercial space.

Will all this be enough to get AMD back in the black? Is the beleaguered company making intelligent moves to return to financial health? AMD's slogan is "Smarter Choice." The chip maker will have to live by its own words to accomplish a turnaround, because it's in no position to bully its way there.