Intel Vs AMD - Comparison between Intel and AMD processors

AMD and Intel processors are the two leading names in the world of processors. Computer industry is the only fast moving industry coming with the day to day developments and inventions. The efforts started in 1960’s have proved fruitful now and the processor technology have reached to the point that they can even be used to focus on multimedia applications. AMD and Intel are not merely the processors but also large organizations which can be compared in terms of products, revenue but also in terms of quality and promotion.

Historical Overview

Intel was founded in 1968 and is considered the founder of X86 processors. AMD was a follower of the technology. AMD was established in 1969 in Sunnyvale. AMD and Intel compete in all product markets from the making of the processors to the graphic chips. Which ever is the case AMD is at second place and Intel is always the top leading brand. In 1982, Intel and AMD signed a contract for the exchange of technology. AMD took the license and became the second largest manufacture of 8086processors. This processor was the major requirement for the IBM PCs. AMD went on producing Am286 when suddenly Intel terminated the agreement. The termination took place in 1986 afterwards AMD charged Intel for this breach of contract and they were accountable for this act. This long case ended in 194 when AMD was given an opportunity to copy the versions of the Intel codes.

Comparison of Processors

Without moving to the history let us briefly compare the Intel Pentium 3 and AMD K-6 III. K-6 III is aimed to increase the life of the system using socket 7 whereas Pentium III is intended to be used with Intel 440BX. Both processors are compatible for 3D applications. However the deficiency comes in terms of software support.  Both processors are aimed to provide high performance however AMD is capable of providing only good integer calculations and lack in same clock frequency. However the quality analysis states that the CPU which is best in terms of price and performance are Pentium III. Intel Celeron is serving the major commercial and server markets. The Intel processors are more compatible to be deployed as workstations and servers. Celeron processors K-6 III is better in terms of performance than its counterpart like K-6 II. This is because of the incorporation of 256Kbyte cache working well with clock frequency. The performance is improved to the level that it can be used for business and high end softwares applications very well. Another important contribution in the processor world is the introduction of AMD Athlon which is considered similar in performance with the Intel Pentium 4. However AMD Athlon is nearly half in price than that of Pentium 4.

Market Share of Intel and AMD

The market share of Intel is obviously much more than the AMD processors. The knowledge of the AMD processors is limited to the professionals only.  The promotion and wide scale production of Intel processors have brought it to the point that even a layman knows that which processor to order.  Besides the price of Intel processors is high it is preferred over the AMD processors. Moreover AMD is losing its market share to Intel. The market share of Intel is about 80.2 % while leaving only 18.2% share for AMD. AMD tried to escape with Athlon64 in 2003. However Intel’s core 2 duo processor left it far behind and once again proved its lead in the processor market. Recently Intel forecasted revenue of $500million and the actual revenue surpassed it way far and it totaled to $9 billion, while leaving behind AMD with only 1.82 billion.