The CPU contest lost, AMD seeks gains in graphics

[Capper]

AMD has lost the CPU benchmark war to Intel--for now. But there's another--possibly more important--fight brewing in GPUs. Here, AMD is in the thick of it.
First the bad news. The Phenom X4 processor reviews that followed the Thursday announcement made it clear that AMD will not catch Intel anytime soon. Though some reviews were couched in vaguely optimistic language such as "AMD is back in the game," the bottom-line benchmarks don't lie.
"This $235 CPU (X4 9850) comes in only $10 less than Intel's comparable quad-core chip, but with noticeably slower performance on almost every one of our tests," Rich Brown said in a CNET review. Another review at ARS Technica cited the X4 9850 as "a decent alternative" but "still unable to match or surpass the (Intel) Q6600 at 2.4GHz."
Graphics is another story, however. The Phenom processor combined with AMD's 780G-based integrated graphics, a new hybrid graphics option, and competitive pricing could give AMD a leg up on Intel in the consumer segment. And it could help get AMD chips into a broader selection of popular PC models as a big spring refresh design cycle approaches for computer makers.
Pat Moorehead, vice president of advanced marketing at AMD, had a lot to say about AMD's 780G hybrid graphics technology and why having a better graphics processing unit (GPU) is sometimes better than merely having a faster central processing unit (CPU). Moorehead's point is that graphics are taking on more of the overall processing load and it's sometime a better value proposition to have a faster graphics chip rather than a faster CPU.
This is where hybrid graphics can play a role. To date, adding a "discrete" (standalone) graphics card would disable the integrated graphics, making it virtually useless. Hybrid graphics allows a graphics add-in card to utilize the integrated graphics chip that is already present in the computer. In essence, providing a low-cost dual-GPU solution. This will match up well with AMD's X3 triple-core processor, Moorehead said.
"That's where the huge value kicks in. Slip in a $50 (HD 3450) graphics card and on a $599 system you can do Call Of Duty 4. Not at HD levels, at lower resolutions, but at a price point you couldn't even dream of before," he said. The 780G by itself is also more powerful than previous integrated graphics chips and is the only integrated solution to do low-cost Blue-ray off-loads, he added.

The CPU contest lost, AMD seeks gains in graphics

[RangerXLT8]

Yep Intel is whoopin' up on AMD in the CPU sector. But I like AMd\ATI graphics cards over NVIDIA, seems like ATI always has better IQ.

[azianai]

this just seems like its inevitable that intel's gonna buy nvidia lol

[Stormcrow]

Humorously, Intel needs AMD to compete with Nvidia. Those X48 boards just don't magically offer Crossfire support ya know.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by azianai

this just seems like its inevitable that intel's gonna buy nvidia lol

I guess the keyword would be "try buying" Nvidia though. I don't see Nvidia giving up so easily, considering they know they have the upper hand right now.

[BrokenHalo83]

It's just nice to see AMD/ATI finally putting up a fight of sorts instead of just rolling over

[Sumgai]

I'll have to agree on that one. It is nice to see AMD throwing some punches back instead of remaining in the fetal position for another year...

[screwballl]

Being a part of the enthusiast community, we tend to lose sight many times of the very thing we discourage: onboard graphics.
For many people and businesses, this is their only or best choice. With Vista requiring more GPU power than ever, having a more powerful onboard solution is many people's only option.
Now AMD gives them something workable. By pairing a more powerful onboard graphics solution with a reasonable processor, this will allow low end computers to compete for the business and low end arena where there is still a large number of sales.