Goliath Wins Big Over Scrappy David

For runner-up AMD, the ARC results weren't very encouraging--the company slipped in most criteria since last year, perhaps a lingering outgrowth of corporate cutbacks in 2002. However, things may already be looking up for 2005, as AMD begins to earn plaudits from VARs for its 64-bit Opteron server CPU.

Intel solidified its winning position by earning the second-highest overall score in the entire ARC survey for the second consecutive year, bested only by Samsung's showing in the display technology category. Intel also ranked first among all ARC vendors for compatibility and ease of integration and second highest overall (again bested by Samsung) for all subcategories--support, partnership and product innovation, as well as loyalty.

"Intel's tech support is phenomenal," says Robert Schaffer, president of systems builders Source Micro in Randolph, N.J., who also lauds the company's warranty-replacement program.

But Intel's biggest advantage for VARs may come from its vertically integrated manufacturing heft. "Having Intel processors and chipsets on an Intel-manufactured motherboard eliminates issues caused by third-party manufacturers," Schaffer explains. "I think that's one of the advantages Intel has over AMD."

Intel's intention to keep its partners satisfied by stoking demand for its processors is evident in its marketing plans (it outscored AMD in marketing support 76 to 65). "We've been doing a lot of study on usage models--what do end users want to do with their computers?" says Bill Leszinske, an Intel marketing director. "We're feeding that research back into our product-development teams."

Intel is also looking to boost the technical heft of its processors by moving beyond clock-speed one-upmanship. "We're innovating on a number of different technologies that will show up in the processor in the next few years," adds Leszinske, pointing to hardware-based security and virtual-partitioning features.

AMD struck its most optimistic notes on the technology front--it was eighth among all ARC vendors for the overall product innovation subcategory and fourth for the technical innovation criterion (scoring 78 and 79, respectively). Along with its 64-bit Opteron and Athlon processors, AMD has led the industry in the move to multicore processors and in advanced chip-cooling solutions. Moving forward, AMD pledges to do a better job of helping its resellers bring its technology to market, which could help its shortfall in the ARC partnership subcategory, where it scored 68, compared with 77 for Intel.

"For Athlon and Opteron, we have an entire organization that calls on the systems-builder community to make sure that they are aware of all the solutions on the market," says Pat Patla, AMD's director of server and workstation marketing.

As for Intel, despite its impressive ARC loyalty score (88 to AMD's 69), it's not planning to rest on its laurels.

"Our goal is to make sure all of our resellers understand what we're doing with our new product launches architecturally," says Steve Dallman, Intel's director of North American distribution and channel marketing. "We want to make sure that we can provide them with tools and solutions that make them competitive."