It won't have escaped your notice that Intel's Sandy Bridge processor microarchitecture has made an impact. A glance at our PCs reviews will soon show that the performance of Sandy Bridge PCs is head and shoulders above the rest.
Alas, that's not the whole story: within weeks of the Sandy Bridge launch, Intel announced it had found a design flaw in its 6-series ‘Cougar Point' chipset, forcing a recall to be issued. You can find out exactly what happened, and what you should do if you intend to buy a PC, in our story: Intel Sandy Bridge recall: what you need to know.
Suffice to say it's a $1bn mistake, and one that Intel will struggle to live down. It'll take at least three years for the dust to settle but, perversely, the recall and its fallout illustrate perfectly the extent to which Intel now dominates the PC industry.
There's nothing wrong with AMD, of course, and the growth of mobile computing means companies such as ARM grow ever more important. But Intel is the single most important hardware player in the PC market, and Sandy Bridge is a game-changing upgrade.
Even after Intel pulled forward its Cougar Point resupply date, the earliest OEM manufacturers will receive sufficient updated motherboards is late March. If vendors had decided not to sell PCs with the tainted chipsets, there'd be a six-week period where only outdated Intel systems or AMD PCs could be sold. At the same time, PC makers would have to recall all the laptops and PCs they'd flogged, replace the motherboards and ship them back. Intel may have to foot the bill in the end, but in the medium term this would be disastrous.
Given Intel's market share and the slim profit margins OEM PC makers endure, only the biggest of the latter could survive such a crisis. It's no exaggeration to suggest that the existence of the independent UK computer industry was threatened by Intel's simple design flaw.
Do the buying public care about the processor in their PC? Not directly, perhaps, but a UK reseller recently told me that it's much harder to sell a PC that doesn't bear Intel branding – largely because of the all-pervasive advertising it undertakes, and that five-note ear-worm its TV ads contain.
If I'm asked for buying advice I rarely recommend a PC model or brand, but point out what specifications to look for. In the current market, that generally means an Intel processor.
Windows 8 will run on system-on-a-chip and mobile ARM processors, as well as Intel and AMD chips. This is partly Microsoft's way of spreading the risk of having a single, over-influential hardware partner. Because, as that firm worked out a long time ago, the best way to make a fortune in the PC industry is not to make PCs, but to design the part of a PC the public will recognise and demand, every time.
See also: Latest Components/Upgrades reviews
Comments
Scotty said: Well put Matt I was awaiting that response from the beginning
Matt Egan - Editor said: AMD may indeed be gaining market share But that was never my point in the piece that you described as being so biased and full of lies Indeed I mention AMD only once and at no point made a negative comparison between AMD and Intel A more diverse market would be a healthier market but this story is about the dominance of Intel over the PC market and I cant help but feel youre reading it through a prism of your own AMD bias
Simply not important? said: Ok Ill change my name from Bs Simply BSLOLThe bottom line is that not one so called analyst reporter etc has stated the facts as they should be Its not just that AMD is gaining market share its that it is doing so at the expense of INTEL and others - and this is not simply because INTEL has faulty chips but more importantly because AMD now has better less expensive greener leaner smaller chips So the consumer now has the following choicesGo with something that could fail - or go with something that wontGo with something less expensive and that will run cooler and cheaper or go with the status quoAs manufacturers are proving me rightyou should change your opinion
Ricky said: I miss this place
Matt Egan - Editor said: Ummm whats that now You are saying that all opinion is biased This is an interesting philosophical debate youre opening I suspect youre right After all we are all prejudiced in one way or another right Hey maybe we were just like born that way inhalesFor the record my opinion - expressed in this story - is that Intel is important to the PC industry to an unhealthy degree and I think recent events back me up And BSpure BS sweetheart I really would challenge you to point out the lies in this story AMD is gaining market share but Im not sure that I state anywhere that it isnt merely that one faulty chipset from Intel nearly shut down the UK PC industry arguably it should have In that context admirable as it is AMD is simply not that important
BS...pure BS said: So an opinion is indeed not fact and therefore is totally biased
BS...pure BS said: So an opinion is indeed not fact and therefore is totally biased
Matt Egan - Editor said: tim theyre your opinions and I wouldnt dare to argue with them - save one I dont know what a Paid Infotisement is but this certainly isnt one Its my opinion pure and simple
tim said: Another Paid Infotisement Intels illegal bribes and THREATS are becoming an ANNOYANCE to the ENTIRE PC FOOD CHAIN 6-BILLION BRIBES PAID TO DELL and Michael Dell got fined 4-MILLION by the SEC Intel isnt ASHAMED150-MILLION Paid to HP combined with threats to cap AMDs market share at 5 INTEL isnt ASHAMEDIntel STOP trying to MONOPOLIZE THE media OEMs and RETAILERS MAKE CHIPS insteadLOSER COMPANY
Matt Egan - Editor said: I love AMD technology I would love to see a more even playing field thats the point Im making I look forward to a world where mobile devices running full-blown Windows have chips from the likes of Arm snip away at Intels market share But right now AMD has at very best 14 of the notebook market and 5 of the server market These are cyclical lows and it will come back but if an AMD chipset had the same problem as Intel Sandy Bridge it would have - by comparison - a miniscule affect on the PC industry
BS...pure BS said: Your story is so biased and full of liesRead up on AMD and do some benchmark testingAMD is gaining market share for a number of reasons- Cheaper than INTC- More powerfull- Run cooler- Fusion SmallerThats why a number of manufacturers are now moving to AMDaka Dell Lenovo HP Sony Toshiba etc and the list goes on and onFurthermore Fusion AMD processors will now also be in Tablets from AccerWake up and smell the coffee