With Computex and E3 2019 behind us, now is a great time to look at the AMD vs Intel tug-of-war. Both introduced new products, with AMD slated to launch new CPUs and GPUs in July. Intel won’t launch its new tenth-generation processors until the end of 2019. Intel’s new line of discrete GPUs won’t appear until sometime in 2020.The state of AMDAMD entered the x86 processor market as a sub-contractor for Intel. The contract allowed AMD to use Intel’s x86-based 8086 design to manufacture processor clones. These chips would help Intel fulfill orders for IBM’s new PCs.
Once Intel introduced its 32-bit processor, AMD’s contract stalled, forcing both companies into a legal battle spanning years. AMD resumed making clones until 1996 when it launched its first in-house x86-based processor, the AMD K5.AMD introduced the first consumer-facing 64-bit processor, the Athlon 64, in 2003. It also launched the Athlon 64 FX for enthusiasts and the Opteron chip for servers. The company’s first consumer-facing dual-core chip, the Athlon 64 X2, arrived in 2005. Its first four-core chip, Phenom, arrived two years later. The Athlon and Phenom desktop parts appeared to be AMD’s prime focus.That changed when Apple ignited the mobile boom with its first iPhone and iPad.The Bulldozer yearsAfter a brief presence between 2006 and 2008, AMD rebooted its mobile efforts with Fusion.
This initiative introduced AMD’s very first Accelerated Processing Unit, or APU, cramming CPU cores and GPU cores into one chip. It also started a chain reaction that would see AMD fall behind Intel in the desktop space until 2016. AMD’s APU efforts essentially dominated the Bulldozer years.For example, between 2011 and 2016, AMD’s only desktop efforts were the FX-branded chips. Codenamed Zambezi and Vishera, they were based on AMD’s Bulldozer architecture (Piledriver was a revised Bulldozer). Meanwhile, Intel cranked out desktop and laptop chips every year. The company also focused on the enterprise sector given the uncertainty of desktops.
Naysayers predicted tablets and smartphones would kill the desktop and laptop markets. But Ultrabooks, 2-in-1s, and detachables seemingly saved the PC industry.To AMD’s defense, naysayers predicted tablets and smartphones would kill the desktop and laptop markets. But Ultrabooks, 2-in-1s, and detachables seemingly saved the PC industry and nearly killed tablets in the process. Still, OEMs mostly stick with Intel-based chips in PCs while resorting to ARM-based solutions in handheld mobile devices.Yet despite its heavy APU focus, AMD had a master plan.Consoles and graphicsCustom APUs based on its Graphics Core Next GPU architecture landed in the Xbox One, Xbox One X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 4 Pro. Developers working on x86-based PCs could now create games that worked across console and PC without any porting involved. High-definition PC gaming finally returned.That’s the flip-side to AMD’s minimal CPU presence during the Bulldozer years: It’s also a graphics card manufacturer. AMD acquired ATI Technologies in 2006 and began producing add-in graphics cards for desktops. Intel won’t enter the discrete GPU race until 2020.AMD’s first-generation Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture appeared in 2012’s Radeon HD 7000
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