The chip maker is now shipping quad-core processors for high-end four- and eight-way servers.
Advanced Micro Devices is rounding out its quad-core Opteron portfolio with new chips designed for high-end four-socket and eight-socket servers.
The chip maker will start shipping two more processors in its 2300 series and an additional two for the 8300 series June 9. Since January, AMD has been looking to make up the ground it lost in 2007 when the first batch of quad-core Opterons were found to have a design flaw in the silicon.
Since then, the AMD quad-core Opteron, or “Barcelona,” processor has been picked up by all four tier one OEMs and a number of small server vendors. The company has also started shipping Opterons for lower-end one-socket systems.
The new processors include the Opteron 2358 SE (2.4GHz) and the Opteron 2360 SE (2.5GHz), along with the Opteron 8358 SE (2.4GHz) and the 8360 SE (2.5GHz). Each of the chips will contain the same 512KB of Level 2 cache per core as all the other Opteron processors, and all four cores will share 2MB of L3 cache.
All four processors will work with a 95-watt thermal envelope.
While AMD has released Opteron chips for MP (multiprocessor) servers before, Steve Demski, an AMD marketing manager, said these new chips are specially designed for customers building high-performance computing environments running applications that require floating-point calculations. Demski also sees a market for businesses looking to run database or other backend applications on x86 hardware, as opposed to a mainframe or Unix-based system.
“The guys that are looking to by the SE series are looking for maximum performance,” said Demski. “What we are talking about is scaling up. In the past, you might need a mainframe or a high-end Unix box, and we now believe that we are providing that same level of performance with these four- and eight-socket systems. The difference is that the cost of the hardware and the cost of the system are much reduced.”
The chips that AMD will ship June 9 represent some of the company’s last 65-nanometer models for servers before the company switches to a new 45-nm manufacturing process later this year. Those processors, dubbed “Shanghai,” will offer a bump in clock speed—perhaps by as much as 20 percent at the launch as the company tries to keep up with Intel—while keeping the thermal envelopes the same.
The MP space is important to AMD as it provides good margins for their products. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, IBM and Sun Microsystems are each expected to release servers built around the new SE models.
For years, AMD had an advantage in this market, compared with Intel, with chip technologies such as integrated memory controller, which allows for better bandwidth. Intel plans to update it offering for the MP space later this year with a new chip called Dunnington, which will have six processing cores and 16MB of L3 cache.
After Dunnington, Intel will release its Nehalem microarchitecture, which will be the first chips to offer the company’s own integrated memory controller as well as other new features.
The prices for the new Opteron models are $873 for the 2358 SE, $1,165 for the 2360 SE, $1,865 for the 8358 SE and $2,149 for the 8360 SE. These prices reflect shipments of 1,000 units.
Monday, June 9, 2008
AMD rounds out Opteron line-up
AMD has rolled out the latest instalment in its new line of Opteron processors.
The quad-core Opteron SE server chips are designed for high-performance four- and eight-socket servers.
AMD hopes that the quad-core chips will offer a "scale up" approach to businesses.
Customers will be able to scale up to more powerful chips rather than purchasing additional server hardware.
"For many customers, the concept of 'scaling up' a data centre has meant a sizeable financial investment in new hardware to gain satisfactory performance during peak workloads," said Patrick Patla, director of AMD's server and workstation business.
"Today, with the performance benefits of the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron SE processor, IT managers can improve application performance and scalability of memory and data intensive workloads at a fraction of the cost."
AMD also hopes that the new chips will offer power savings while still preserving a high level of performance.
Opteron product manager Kishna Weaver told vnunet.com that, because the chip was designed with power savings in mind, AMD is able to focus on boosting performance with the SE chips while still keeping energy consumption down.
"There are fundamental things that AMD does to address power, and it is going to be present in every product in the line up," explained Weaver.
AMD will offer the Opteron SE chips in four different models, running at speeds of 2.4GHz and 2.5GHz.
Server vendors planning on offering the chips include Sun Microsystems, Dell, HP and IBM.
The quad-core Opteron SE server chips are designed for high-performance four- and eight-socket servers.
AMD hopes that the quad-core chips will offer a "scale up" approach to businesses.
Customers will be able to scale up to more powerful chips rather than purchasing additional server hardware.
"For many customers, the concept of 'scaling up' a data centre has meant a sizeable financial investment in new hardware to gain satisfactory performance during peak workloads," said Patrick Patla, director of AMD's server and workstation business.
"Today, with the performance benefits of the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron SE processor, IT managers can improve application performance and scalability of memory and data intensive workloads at a fraction of the cost."
AMD also hopes that the new chips will offer power savings while still preserving a high level of performance.
Opteron product manager Kishna Weaver told vnunet.com that, because the chip was designed with power savings in mind, AMD is able to focus on boosting performance with the SE chips while still keeping energy consumption down.
"There are fundamental things that AMD does to address power, and it is going to be present in every product in the line up," explained Weaver.
AMD will offer the Opteron SE chips in four different models, running at speeds of 2.4GHz and 2.5GHz.
Server vendors planning on offering the chips include Sun Microsystems, Dell, HP and IBM.
AMD pitches latest Opterons at swollen boxen
AMD today pushed out its latest round of quad core Opteron chips, this time designed for four-socket and eight-socket x86 server beasts.
The Sunnyvale, California-based chip maker said it has already begun shipping processors, which are in its 2300 and 8300 models and aimed squarely at the enterprise market, to Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Dell and IBM.
It is AMD’s latest attempt to stomp on rival Intel with its Opteron or “Barcelona” chip, after the original launch was scuppered by a design fault in the silicon last autumn.
Barcelona has already been gobbled up by the major OEMs, including HP and Dell. Opterons have also been shipped for lower end one socket systems.
The latest AMD quad core chips include the Opteron 2358 SE (2.4GHz) and the Opteron 2360 SE (2.5GHz), and customers can also get their hands on the Opteron 8358 SE (2.4GHz) and the 8360 SE (2.5GHz).
Each processor, which AMD said will work with a 95 watt thermal envelope, is loaded with the same 512KB of Level 2 cache per core as the other Barcelona chips, while all four cores share 2MB of L3 cache.
Apparently, Microsoft is wetting its pants over the new chip.
“As we prepare for the general availability of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 [which has missed its launch date by a considerable margin], we are excited about our work with AMD to provide our mutual customers a state of the art data platform for their business critical workloads such as ERP, Web, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing,” said Redmond’s SQL Server general manager Dan Neault.
No word from AMD on how much enterprises can expect to cough up for systems running the chips, however. It simply proclaims that the chips will be priced at an “industry-standard”.
Last week AMD launched its long-awaited Puma laptop platform into an unexpectedly open market after Intel was forced to delay its refreshed Centrino 2 platform.
The Sunnyvale, California-based chip maker said it has already begun shipping processors, which are in its 2300 and 8300 models and aimed squarely at the enterprise market, to Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Dell and IBM.
It is AMD’s latest attempt to stomp on rival Intel with its Opteron or “Barcelona” chip, after the original launch was scuppered by a design fault in the silicon last autumn.
Barcelona has already been gobbled up by the major OEMs, including HP and Dell. Opterons have also been shipped for lower end one socket systems.
The latest AMD quad core chips include the Opteron 2358 SE (2.4GHz) and the Opteron 2360 SE (2.5GHz), and customers can also get their hands on the Opteron 8358 SE (2.4GHz) and the 8360 SE (2.5GHz).
Each processor, which AMD said will work with a 95 watt thermal envelope, is loaded with the same 512KB of Level 2 cache per core as the other Barcelona chips, while all four cores share 2MB of L3 cache.
Apparently, Microsoft is wetting its pants over the new chip.
“As we prepare for the general availability of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 [which has missed its launch date by a considerable margin], we are excited about our work with AMD to provide our mutual customers a state of the art data platform for their business critical workloads such as ERP, Web, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing,” said Redmond’s SQL Server general manager Dan Neault.
No word from AMD on how much enterprises can expect to cough up for systems running the chips, however. It simply proclaims that the chips will be priced at an “industry-standard”.
Last week AMD launched its long-awaited Puma laptop platform into an unexpectedly open market after Intel was forced to delay its refreshed Centrino 2 platform.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
AMD to 'wait and see' about low-cost chip
AMD set to introduce its Puma line of chips :
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., trailing Intel Corp. in the market for computer processors, will "wait and see" before deciding whether to develop chips for the low-cost notebook market.
"I'm a little bit skeptical because of the big trade-offs and the economies of scale on the full-size notebooks," said Patrick Moorhead, AMD'S vice president of advanced marketing. Low-cost personal computers "have a hard time doing what a lot of people would consider basic surfing" on the Internet.
Intel on Tuesday unveiled its Atom chip, aimed at the low-cost notebook market. Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. are among makers of products featuring the processor. Today, AMD plans to introduce its Puma line of chips, which Moorhead said is targeted at 85 percent of the notebook market.
The new AMD chips cut power usage and offer high-quality video capability, allowing notebook users to watch a full-length, high-definition DVD on a single battery charge, Moorhead said.
Atom isn't designed for complex tasks such as video encoding, said Noury Al-Khaledy, Intel's general manager of nettop and netbook computers.
Intel expects the market for low-cost computers to increase to 100 million units per year by 2011, Al-Khaledy said. The worldwide notebook market will climb to 194 million units a year over the same period, according to researcher IDC.
Puma includes a central processor as well as a supporting chipset, which Moorhead said will be made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the world's largest custom-chip producer, using 55-nanometer technology. Transistors within chips are measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter.
Shares of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, which has about 2,500 employees in Austin, rose 1 cent to $6.81 on Tuesday. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel fell 26 cents to $22.94.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., trailing Intel Corp. in the market for computer processors, will "wait and see" before deciding whether to develop chips for the low-cost notebook market.
"I'm a little bit skeptical because of the big trade-offs and the economies of scale on the full-size notebooks," said Patrick Moorhead, AMD'S vice president of advanced marketing. Low-cost personal computers "have a hard time doing what a lot of people would consider basic surfing" on the Internet.
Intel on Tuesday unveiled its Atom chip, aimed at the low-cost notebook market. Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. are among makers of products featuring the processor. Today, AMD plans to introduce its Puma line of chips, which Moorhead said is targeted at 85 percent of the notebook market.
The new AMD chips cut power usage and offer high-quality video capability, allowing notebook users to watch a full-length, high-definition DVD on a single battery charge, Moorhead said.
Atom isn't designed for complex tasks such as video encoding, said Noury Al-Khaledy, Intel's general manager of nettop and netbook computers.
Intel expects the market for low-cost computers to increase to 100 million units per year by 2011, Al-Khaledy said. The worldwide notebook market will climb to 194 million units a year over the same period, according to researcher IDC.
Puma includes a central processor as well as a supporting chipset, which Moorhead said will be made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the world's largest custom-chip producer, using 55-nanometer technology. Transistors within chips are measured in nanometers, or billionths of a meter.
Shares of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, which has about 2,500 employees in Austin, rose 1 cent to $6.81 on Tuesday. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel fell 26 cents to $22.94.
Supermicro Unleashes Single-Processor
Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMCI), a leader in application-optimized, high performance server and workstation solutions, has announced full support for the latest Quad-Core AMD Opteron(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) 1300 Series processors on its latest single-processor A+ Servers on display at Computex Taipei 2008 (booths M619-M726). In addition to the cost-effective 1011M-UR and 1011S-MR2 A+ Servers, Supermicro is also showcasing its high-density, energy-efficient, 4-way/2-way SuperBlade(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%), 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%), 4-way 1U, and Universal I/O (UIO) solutions. All five solutions are optimized for Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors.
"Always quick to market with the latest server technology, Supermicro fully supports the new single-socket processors on our latest generation of UP servers," said Alex Hsu, chief sales and marketing officer (CSMO) of Supermicro. "Featuring the highest computing density available, we are also showcasing our SuperBlade SBE-710E 7U enclosure with up to ten 4-socket Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based server blades supporting up to 960 processor cores and 7.68TB of memory per 42U rack along with our new 2-way AMD Opteron blades (SBA-7121M-T1) and our A+ Server 1021TM Series Opteron 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) servers."
"By merging the strength of AMD's native quad-core technology and Direct Connect Architecture with their own server design expertise, Supermicro has produced an extensive selection of quad-core solutions that are exceptional in terms of performance, features and energy-efficiency," said Patrick Palta, director, Server and Workstation Business, AMD (NYSE: AMD: 6.81, +0.01, +0.14%). "By enabling excellent overall system performance and efficiency, Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based systems are a clear choice for meeting the business computing demands of today's competitive marketplace."
Supporting two AMD Opteron processor-based DP motherboards in a 1U chassis, Supermicro's new A+ Server 1021TM series 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) increases computing density while minimizing energy consumption, costs and space requirements. When loaded with four Quad-Core AMD Opteron 2300 Series processors, the 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) system features 16 processing cores for exceptional computing density. Each node is a true high-performance system that supports up to 64GB of energy-efficient DDR2 memory, PCI-Express x16, independent dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, and optional InfiniBand.
Supermicro emphasizes superior product design and uncompromising quality control to produce industry-leading serverboards, chassis and server systems. These Server Building Block Solutions provide benefits across many environments, including data center deployment, high-performance computing, high-end workstations, storage networks and standalone server installations. For more information on Supermicro's complete line of advanced motherboards, SuperServers, and optimized chassis
"Always quick to market with the latest server technology, Supermicro fully supports the new single-socket processors on our latest generation of UP servers," said Alex Hsu, chief sales and marketing officer (CSMO) of Supermicro. "Featuring the highest computing density available, we are also showcasing our SuperBlade SBE-710E 7U enclosure with up to ten 4-socket Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based server blades supporting up to 960 processor cores and 7.68TB of memory per 42U rack along with our new 2-way AMD Opteron blades (SBA-7121M-T1) and our A+ Server 1021TM Series Opteron 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) servers."
"By merging the strength of AMD's native quad-core technology and Direct Connect Architecture with their own server design expertise, Supermicro has produced an extensive selection of quad-core solutions that are exceptional in terms of performance, features and energy-efficiency," said Patrick Palta, director, Server and Workstation Business, AMD (NYSE: AMD: 6.81, +0.01, +0.14%). "By enabling excellent overall system performance and efficiency, Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor-based systems are a clear choice for meeting the business computing demands of today's competitive marketplace."
Supporting two AMD Opteron processor-based DP motherboards in a 1U chassis, Supermicro's new A+ Server 1021TM series 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) increases computing density while minimizing energy consumption, costs and space requirements. When loaded with four Quad-Core AMD Opteron 2300 Series processors, the 1U Twin(TM: 102.29, -0.22, -0.21%) system features 16 processing cores for exceptional computing density. Each node is a true high-performance system that supports up to 64GB of energy-efficient DDR2 memory, PCI-Express x16, independent dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, and optional InfiniBand.
Supermicro emphasizes superior product design and uncompromising quality control to produce industry-leading serverboards, chassis and server systems. These Server Building Block Solutions provide benefits across many environments, including data center deployment, high-performance computing, high-end workstations, storage networks and standalone server installations. For more information on Supermicro's complete line of advanced motherboards, SuperServers, and optimized chassis
AMD rolls out new laptop chip package
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. rolled out a new package of chips for laptops Wednesday, a major overhaul of its mobile lineup the chip maker hopes will help it climb out of a deep financial trough.
The Sunnyvale-based company, saddled with debt and hurt by product delays, is betting consumers will gravitate toward its new Turion brand processor and related chipset — part of a package that chip makers call a "platform" and sell together — because of their focus on high-definition video playback.
This new generation of Turion laptop chips will appear at launch in twice as many different computers — from Hewlett-Packard Co., Acer Inc., Toshiba Corp. and others — as the previous generation, released two years ago, AMD said.
Chip makers AMD, Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. are battling harder over high-end graphics as more people watch movies and television programs on their home computers and as operating systems and Web applications require better visuals.
To that end, AMD's new chips, which were unveiled at the Computex computer show in Taiwan, rely heavily on parts from ATI Technologies, a graphics chip supplier that AMD acquired for $5.6 billion in 2006 to help it challenge Nvidia and much larger Intel.
Intel is the world's No. 1 maker of microprocessors, the brains of personal computers. AMD is a distant No. 2, and with the acquisition of ATI now makes standalone graphics chips. Nvidia is the market leader in standalone graphics chips.
AMD hopes that by infusing its general-purpose chips with more advanced graphics capabilities it can boost their appeal and help the company increase its market share.
AMD has racked up more than $4 billion in losses over the last six quarters as Intel snatched away market share with newer parts and AMD struggled to digest the pricey ATI acquisition.
AMD's new Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core mobile processors, which come in clock speeds up to 2.4 gigahertz, are accompanied by powerful new chipsets, a separate set of chips that do most of the graphics work — absent a standalone graphics chip — and control how the processor communicates with the rest of the computer.
AMD says its chipsets deliver three times better 3-D performance and five times better high-definition image quality than competing models because of the strength of its integrated graphics. AMD also says its chips transmit high-definition videos and photos faster over wireless networks.
The company says demand for its new lineup of laptop chips has been strong.
The Sunnyvale-based company, saddled with debt and hurt by product delays, is betting consumers will gravitate toward its new Turion brand processor and related chipset — part of a package that chip makers call a "platform" and sell together — because of their focus on high-definition video playback.
This new generation of Turion laptop chips will appear at launch in twice as many different computers — from Hewlett-Packard Co., Acer Inc., Toshiba Corp. and others — as the previous generation, released two years ago, AMD said.
Chip makers AMD, Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. are battling harder over high-end graphics as more people watch movies and television programs on their home computers and as operating systems and Web applications require better visuals.
To that end, AMD's new chips, which were unveiled at the Computex computer show in Taiwan, rely heavily on parts from ATI Technologies, a graphics chip supplier that AMD acquired for $5.6 billion in 2006 to help it challenge Nvidia and much larger Intel.
Intel is the world's No. 1 maker of microprocessors, the brains of personal computers. AMD is a distant No. 2, and with the acquisition of ATI now makes standalone graphics chips. Nvidia is the market leader in standalone graphics chips.
AMD hopes that by infusing its general-purpose chips with more advanced graphics capabilities it can boost their appeal and help the company increase its market share.
AMD has racked up more than $4 billion in losses over the last six quarters as Intel snatched away market share with newer parts and AMD struggled to digest the pricey ATI acquisition.
AMD's new Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core mobile processors, which come in clock speeds up to 2.4 gigahertz, are accompanied by powerful new chipsets, a separate set of chips that do most of the graphics work — absent a standalone graphics chip — and control how the processor communicates with the rest of the computer.
AMD says its chipsets deliver three times better 3-D performance and five times better high-definition image quality than competing models because of the strength of its integrated graphics. AMD also says its chips transmit high-definition videos and photos faster over wireless networks.
The company says demand for its new lineup of laptop chips has been strong.
Intel, Nvidia Fight Over Gadgets
That's the quick and not entirely complete explanation for why Nvidia (nasdaq: NVDA - news - people ) moved last Sunday to counter Intel's (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) foray into processors for mobile devices with an expanded low-power processor line of its own, dubbed Tegra.
The longer explanation is that both companies see the markets for their processors going where Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Jobs is busy building an empire: mobile devices that combine computing, connectivity and multimedia content. Build the chips, and someone, whether it is Jobs or Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, will help turn them the gadgets consumers will crave.
Intel is pushing its mobile processor line, dubbed Atom, as a way to cram the ability to run a bite-sized, power-sipping version of the chips that power desktop computers into ever smaller devices. Nvidia, meanwhile, is pitching the ability to tackle desktop-quality multimedia on a tiny power budget. The Tegra 650, announced Sunday, will join a previously announced Nvidia chip, the APX 2500, to make up a a new product line for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company.
The Tegra 650 crams together a motley collection of processors onto a single piece of silicon. The chips will include an 800-megahertz ARM central processor--the same power-sipping design powering many smart phones--with a high-definition video processor, an imaging processor, an audio processor and a tiny, low-power version of the GeForce graphics processors Nvidia pushes for desktop and laptop computers.
"We think it's a complete computer on a chip," says Mike Rayfield, general manager of Nvidia's mobile business.
The result: Nvidia claims its Tegra processors get as much as 10 times the power efficiency of existing products in battery-operated gadgets running applications such as games and video. The company said it expects products built around the new chips will arrive by year-end for pocket-sized, multimedia-friendly gadgets.
But while Tegra will be powering devices running Microsoft software, Apple could offer the best example of where Nvidia and Intel see the future going. When Intel wants to show investors the kind of devices that will use future generations of even more power-efficient Atom processors, it flashes a slide with an image of an iPhone. And when Nvidia wanted to grab a spot in the market for mobile multimedia gizmos, it bought PortalPlayer, the company that supplied the silicon for the original iPod. Smart people at both companies are betting big on the same idea.
Steve Jobs is too. In April, Apple bought chip designer P.A. Semi for $278 million in cash. (See "Apple Buys Chip Designer.") The move gives Apple a cadre of experienced microprocessor designers who will set to work designing new chips for Apple's iPhone and iPod music players. So there's no guarantee that either Nvidia or Intel will ever win a spot inside of future Apple gizmos.
Then again, the ability to help Apple's competitors beat down whatever Jobs comes up with promises to be a mighty juicy consolation prize.
The longer explanation is that both companies see the markets for their processors going where Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Jobs is busy building an empire: mobile devices that combine computing, connectivity and multimedia content. Build the chips, and someone, whether it is Jobs or Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, will help turn them the gadgets consumers will crave.
Intel is pushing its mobile processor line, dubbed Atom, as a way to cram the ability to run a bite-sized, power-sipping version of the chips that power desktop computers into ever smaller devices. Nvidia, meanwhile, is pitching the ability to tackle desktop-quality multimedia on a tiny power budget. The Tegra 650, announced Sunday, will join a previously announced Nvidia chip, the APX 2500, to make up a a new product line for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company.
The Tegra 650 crams together a motley collection of processors onto a single piece of silicon. The chips will include an 800-megahertz ARM central processor--the same power-sipping design powering many smart phones--with a high-definition video processor, an imaging processor, an audio processor and a tiny, low-power version of the GeForce graphics processors Nvidia pushes for desktop and laptop computers.
"We think it's a complete computer on a chip," says Mike Rayfield, general manager of Nvidia's mobile business.
The result: Nvidia claims its Tegra processors get as much as 10 times the power efficiency of existing products in battery-operated gadgets running applications such as games and video. The company said it expects products built around the new chips will arrive by year-end for pocket-sized, multimedia-friendly gadgets.
But while Tegra will be powering devices running Microsoft software, Apple could offer the best example of where Nvidia and Intel see the future going. When Intel wants to show investors the kind of devices that will use future generations of even more power-efficient Atom processors, it flashes a slide with an image of an iPhone. And when Nvidia wanted to grab a spot in the market for mobile multimedia gizmos, it bought PortalPlayer, the company that supplied the silicon for the original iPod. Smart people at both companies are betting big on the same idea.
Steve Jobs is too. In April, Apple bought chip designer P.A. Semi for $278 million in cash. (See "Apple Buys Chip Designer.") The move gives Apple a cadre of experienced microprocessor designers who will set to work designing new chips for Apple's iPhone and iPod music players. So there's no guarantee that either Nvidia or Intel will ever win a spot inside of future Apple gizmos.
Then again, the ability to help Apple's competitors beat down whatever Jobs comes up with promises to be a mighty juicy consolation prize.
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