Feature Articles

AMD on the Rebound: A Chat With Henri Richard

By Zachary Chan - 2 Apr 2007

64-bit, Same Question, Differe....

64-bit, Same Question, Different Year

HWZ: Let's talk about 64-bit. It has been 5 years since AMD's 64-bit processors hit the scene and 64-bit adoption has still not taken off. In our previous interview in 2005, you speculated that 32-bit will be a thing of the past come Vista, but there were no reasons to go with Windows 64-bit before and there are still no compelling reasons to use Vista 64-bit today � What are the factors stopping 64-bit computing going forward?

Henri Richard: Well, it has been a disappointing experience. Of course, on the server side, everything has moved on to 64-bit. On the client side, Vista was - is a great opportunity to move to 64-bit. Microsoft did a lot of work to ensure a full fledged operating system with its own drivers and all the compatibility needed. But we're thrust into a situation that is very difficult for our OEM customers.

The PC OEM market today is one where it is very difficult to make any money. There's a reason for that and that is the monopoly and tax imposed by Intel. So because it is very difficult to make any money for the PC manufacturer, it is difficult for them to invest in true innovation and difficult for them to accept the cost that comes with progress.

If you're running a large call center today, it is easier to keep your customer based on 32-bit than to move them to 64-bit even if you know its a better solution than to deal with the issues that arise from compatibility. Even though with Vista, it is greatly reduced.

So the issue of moving to 64-bit is not a technical one. It is not even an issue of applications because I can show you even simple applications such as HD video editing software that works much better, a lot better on 64-bit than 32-bit. The issue is one of economics and the fact that this industry is really plagued by the lack of healthy profits that enable our customers to really drive innovation.

Microsoft did their job. There's a full Vista 64-bit OS, which is the same price as the 32-bit. We can't really ask more of them than that. Now, what we need is for the rest of the ecosystem to move forward and to do it because they know it is the right thing to do. I don't think you will meet anybody that will say 64-bit isn't a good idea, but you will meet a lot of people that cannot afford to take it to the market. That is a very sad state of affairs of our industry. And frankly I think that is where the competition is lacking in their ability to be a leader, because instead of helping to expand the market, they seem to be very focused on trying to hurt me.


HWZ: Is AMD still actively trying to evangelize 64-bit computing?

Henri Richard: Absolutely, we're continuing to do so. We have a very large majority of processors out there that are 64-bit enabled, more than our competitor. We don't ship any 32-bit products to speak of except in our embedded business for the legacy side. In the open PC market, we're shipping 64-bit products and we'll do our best to move the agenda of the industry to go with 64-bit computing, but it is not something AMD can go alone, we need to support of the industry.

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