BAD HARDWARE WEEK

Meanwhile, Chris Caso of Friedman Billings Ramsey says he has learned that Intel is planning to cut prices on its quad-core server processors by 30% to 50% on July 7, ahead of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) launch of its new Barcelona processor. “Essentially, these cuts bring quad-core processors to dual-core price points, which will likely be negative for INTC server margins, but would allow it to gain further share,” he wrote in a research note this morning. “We expect these cuts to delay some of the [second half] margin improvement that we had hoped for. However, we think the price cuts are worse for AMD, as these cuts likely mute the Barcelona launch.”

Caso maintains an Outperform rating on Intel with a $25 price target.

Intel today is down 8 cents at $19.26; AMD is up 8 cents at $13.68.

However, Badhardware feels that Barcelona will be announced on Computex Taiwan June 6th. If so, Intel price cut will be late. If Computex launch is real, but Barcelona's volume availability is late a month or so after June, then Intel's move will have some positive impact to Satan Clara company. But, what about Barcelona impact on the overall market?

AMD is in the running for the best tech stock for 2007.

The task at hand is to find the tech stock most likely to outperform the market in 2007. What if I can show you a company that is poised to retake a recently lost performance crown, is fighting a price war its competitors' shareholders can't be happy about, and is available at its lowest share price since 2004?
That stock, my friends, is Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD). Now available at a broker near you at a 60% discount from its 52-week highs, this scrappy underdog is better equipped to fight the good fight against chip giant Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) than most investors seem to realize. Think of it this way: Intel still outsells AMD by three processor units to one. For every dollar of lower prices in the price war, it takes three times as many real dollars out of the bigger company's top line.

Don't forget that AMD is used to making a living off slim margins, in the same class as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) or Dell (Nasdaq: DELL). Its substantial investments in manufacturing infrastructure leads to Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)-sized depreciation and amortization -- and more than $1 billion in positive operation cash flow through the first three quarters of 2006. But management tends to spend all of that cash on expanding its business. As a result, AMD is keeping pace with Intel in processor performance, making for a give-and-take race between two worthy competitors.

Next up from AMD is the native quad-core Barcelona processor, which is likely to outperform the Intel quads that are merely two dual cores bolted together. After that, both companies are moving on to smaller and more advanced manufacturing processes -- in AMD's case, together with IBM (NYSE: IBM). There are worse partners than the perennial world leader in new patents. And in 2008, the ATI acquisition should start to bear fruit, with fully integrated systems-on-a-chip and better graphics performance than anything Intel can produce.

Over the past three years, Intel has grown revenues at a plodding 5.5% annually. Texas Instruments did better with 13.2%, but AMD smokes them both with 17.1% annual sales growth. Intel shareholders aren't likely to want the price war extended beyond 2007, which is management's current plan. When the pricing lid comes off later this year, AMD's earnings will take off again, as its highly efficient operations creates earnings leverage when revenues and gross margins expand. And that depressed valuation will follow suit.

So will AMD rise to new heights in 2007? I think it will.

P.S. After this story broke the ice, Intel get panicking . On April 22, Intel is slated to announce a 40 percent price cut on its current quad-core processors and significant drop on Core 2 Duos, channel sources said.

That means only one. Barcelona is on June 6th. Or even earlier. Intel in panic even gave details of fothcoming High-K metal process in 2008.


In upper picture we see proposed significant reduction of leakage due to High-K introduction. But, then Intel introduces Deep power down state. If there is acceptable reduction of leakage with High-K, than why Deep power down, that is the only real undoutbtfull way to cut lekage. See the core waking time from deep power down. Obviously something is wrong with Intel. Yeah, bigger caches boosts performance, but leakage too. !


INTEL ANNOUNCES NEHALEM ALMOST TWO YEARS AHEAD. BUT AMD WOULD HAVE IT WITH BARSELONA ON THE SHELFS IN THREE MONTHS. THUS, AMD IS STILL IN EDGE TECHNOLOGY ADVANTAGE WHOLE 18 MONTHS, AS IT HAS BEEN SINCE OPTERON INTRODUCTION. BESIDE, WASN'T INTEL PRACTICE UP TO NOW NOT TO TALK ON UNANNOUNCED PRODUCTS? However there is an elegant answer to that dichotomy. Intel actually talks on AMD's future products ! !. Because it is copying AMD.