AMD's Ruiz promotes the company in Russia

31.10.2006
In 2007, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is expecting microprocessor unit shipments to grow 35 percent year-over-year, the company chairman and chief executive officer Hector Ruiz said on Monday during a visit to Moscow.

Ruiz called the unit growth target aggressive because the size of microprocessor dies is growing as a result of the introduction of dual-core and quad-core processors, which meant fewer microprocessors can be made on each wafer.

As reported earlier, AMD is planning to shift its production to a 65-nanometer process by mid-2007. Asked if the current inability to produce the offerings in the 65 nanometer space for the market like Intel's Core 2 Duo microprocessor or the upcoming quad-core processor was dangerous for AMD, Ruiz suggested forgetting the nanometer discussion.

"Although nanometers look important for the cost, what really counts is the product value in the market," he said. He also said that AMD would be the first company to introduce a native quad-core processor. "The quad-core you've heard about is just two dual-core chips glued together, it's not really quad-core."

In the third quarter results issued on Oct. 18, AMD reported a 70 percent year-over-year growth in mobile microprocessors. At the same time systems manufacturers in Russia experienced shortages of all types of AMD microprocessors.

"The shift to mobile computers was much faster that we thought. And therefore we were unable to shift our company fast enough to take advantage of this faster," Ruiz said. "But we believe that the third quarter challenge was temporary and we already in this quarter have begun a better mix towards desktop. We expect next year to have much more normal distribution," he added.