After a great year 2019, Intel’s eternal rival AMD would represent 40% of the PC processor market according to PassMark. A figure that the founder had not reached since 2006. A success that would be due to the excellent strategy of the firm against Intel, which is less incisive.
AMD is at the top of its game:
We felt it coming. And here is finally an indicator that confirms it: AMD is back in the battle. PassMark, publisher of the eponymous Windows benchmark tool, claims that AMD processors power 40% of the PCs that have used its software. It hadn’t happened in 14 years when Intel and AMD were neck and neck.
Asuccess that the firm obviously owes to its engraving in 7 nm, very effective against the processors engraved in 14 nm from Intel, but also to its aggressive commercial strategy.
The AMD vs Intel battle for x86 processors for PC is almost as old as the history of Windows. One is still ahead. The other still behind. Of course, the balance of forces fluctuates regularly. Sometimes Intel is omnipresent.
Sometimes AMD gets a bit of a beast. This has been the case for over 20 years. However, in the early 2000s, the gap between the two founders was narrower than today.Intel was below 60% and AMD above 40%. The two companies were neck and neck, to the delight of techies who took full advantage of this fierce competition.
Zen 2: the processor that changed everything
After 2006, however, Intel took off. More and more. Until 2016 when its processors were presentin more than 8 computers out of 10 . Several factors have worked in favor of Intel. A dominance over the speed of the processors.
Better trade deals with brands. Fortunately, everything did not stay that way. In 2017, AMD presents its Zen 2 series. Components with an engraving fineness of 7 nm.
The fineness of engraving is important in the world of processors: the smaller it is, the less the component heats up, making it possible to improve the rates. So much so that AMD’s products often offer the same performance as Intel’s. Which hadn’t happened in a very long time.
While Intel still relies on 14nm engraving, AMD is taking advantage of 7nmengraving in2019 for the third consecutive year. A maturity that allows AMD to lower the price of these components, which are much more affordable than the competition.
ccording to analysts, AMD could grab a few more points from the x86 processor market in 2020 while waiting for Intel to produce a product engraved in 10 nm.
However, the Santa Clara company remains a benchmark in the field of gaming where the frequency of the processors is critical and where Intel is always one step ahead. But this will not be enough in the face of an AMD visibly in great shape.