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Shots Fired Again Between CPU Vendors AMD and Intel (tomshardware.com)
Highdude702 shares a report from Tom's Hardware: AMD's feud with Intel took an interesting turn today as the company announced that it would swap 40 Core i7-8086K's won from Intel's sweepstakes with a much beefier Threadripper 1950X CPU. At Computex 2018, Intel officially announced it was releasing the Core i7-8086K, a special edition processor that commemorates the 40th anniversary of the 8086, which debuted as the first x86 processor on June 8, 1978. Now AMD is offering to replace 40 of the winners' chips with its own 16-core 32-thread $799 Threadripper processors, thus throwing a marketing wrench into Intel's 40th-anniversary celebration.
AMD has a list of the complete terms and conditions on its site. But it is also noteworthy that "winners" of AMD's competing sweepstakes will have to pony up for a much more expensive X399 motherboard with the TR4 socket, which currently retail for more than $300, instead of Intel's less-expensive 300-series motherboards. Regardless, those who do swap their Intel Core silicon for an AMD Threadripper chip will gain 10 cores and quad-channel memory, not to mention quite a bit of resale value. In response, Slashdot reader Highdude702 said: "AMD is shooting back at Intel like its easy for them, even though 40 out of 8086 is kind of stingy. They are acting like they have the horsepower now. I believe it is going to be an interesting time for consumers and enthusiasts coming soon. Maybe we will even get better prices."
Intel responded via its official verified "Intel Gaming" Twitter account, tweeting: ".@AMDRyzen, if you wanted an Intel Core i7-8086K processor too, you could have just asked us. :) Thanks for helping us celebrate the 8086!"
AMD has a list of the complete terms and conditions on its site. But it is also noteworthy that "winners" of AMD's competing sweepstakes will have to pony up for a much more expensive X399 motherboard with the TR4 socket, which currently retail for more than $300, instead of Intel's less-expensive 300-series motherboards. Regardless, those who do swap their Intel Core silicon for an AMD Threadripper chip will gain 10 cores and quad-channel memory, not to mention quite a bit of resale value. In response, Slashdot reader Highdude702 said: "AMD is shooting back at Intel like its easy for them, even though 40 out of 8086 is kind of stingy. They are acting like they have the horsepower now. I believe it is going to be an interesting time for consumers and enthusiasts coming soon. Maybe we will even get better prices."
Intel responded via its official verified "Intel Gaming" Twitter account, tweeting: ".@AMDRyzen, if you wanted an Intel Core i7-8086K processor too, you could have just asked us. :) Thanks for helping us celebrate the 8086!"
Back in the day when AMD first released their Opteron CPU (Codename Sledgehammer), they had some demo motherboards called AMD Melody. On the silkscreen of that motherboards there was indeed a melody - actually the "Intel inside" jingle score with a sledgehammer hanging over it.
And now, still remembering this, I feel really old.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
Dude, Intel intel isn't in a position to talk crap. Or rather that's all they can do because they have squat to compete with, and everyone but the terminally stupid knows it.
Did you see that ridiculous "5 GHz" demo they made at Computex? Allegedly coming "soon" to market. Oh wait it's not, they "forgot" to tell it was a 1kW+ overclocked abortion on a custom 28 phase VRM, with an industrial 1kW water-cooler keeping the coolant at sub-ambient, most probably -10 C. A several years old CPU at that which normally sells for 10k+ USD?
That's desperation right there. Intel have emptied the cupboards, they have nothing left. Anything new will take years to come to market.
As much as I love AMD, it was actually a really dumb move on the part of AMD, as long as Intel are smart and humerous about their responses AMD can only lose from this or at best break even.
INTEL responses "our CPU's so great even our competitors will throw away their own to get one"
If AMD destroy the CPU's "wow what a waste, those could have been used for charity, don't worry though we will donate additional CPU's to a childrens hospital to cover what AMD were too tight arsed to do"
AMD give them away "Not even AMD is willing to use AMD cpu's in their prizes"
AMD keep them for testing "AMD so desperate to keep up they had to bribe prize winners to get ahold of one of these"
etc etc, the cheap easy marketing points AMD get in the short term may come back to bite them hard if Intel is smart.