Even Intel is impressed by AMD’s processors according to internal memo

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Even Intel is impressed by AMD’s Zen 2 processors. This is indicated by an article published in an internal employee network.

Internal Intel memo on AMD appeared on Reddit

It appears that Intel is also currently dealing strongly with the upcoming AMD processors based on Zen 2, namely Ryzen 3000 and Epyc 2 alias Rome. In the company-owned portal called “Circuit News” the employee Walden Kirsch posted a quite detailed article. This article, which can actually only be read by Intel employees, also made it to Reddit via the user scv_goot_to_go. In the article the history of AMD is slightly explained , but new technologies are also discussed. Intel is surprisingly objective in this memo and compares how their own products will look after the launch of the Ryzen 3000 and Epyc 2 processors. There is also a Q&A from the company’s own competitor expert Steve Collins.

Intel is impressed by AMD

The tenor of the article is interestingly not only objective, but also very realistic. The author admits that AMD has once again become an excellent competitor in various sectors. The combination of TSMC’s 7nm technology and the technological progress the company has made, creates new challenges for Intel. It is still expected that the company’s own processors will perform better in applications with fewer cores, while Matisse will keep the lead in multicore applications. However, the article also points out that the well scaled Cinebench benchmark is not a reference for Intel.

Particularly in the server segment, Intel is preparing for the most intense competition of the decade. The Epyc 2 processors are clearly outperforming, especially in throughput-oriented benchmarks and processes that scale well to numerous cores. However, in terms of latency times, the company’s own Xeon processors are still significantly better, which makes them more suitable for databases, analytics or web servers. AMD, on the other hand, continues to have a clear advantage over the company’s soon-to-be-released graphics cards because they lack experience.

AMD has succeeded in maintaining this lead by focusing on their products. In recent years, profits have risen significantly again, as the company became more focused on the high-end market. The stock market also responded well to this, saying that AMD was the best performing stock in the Standard & Poors 500 (S&P 500) index in 2018. Both measures would give more money for development.

Intel’s “Secret Sauce” to compete against AMD

The article also mentions how Intel will take action against the competitor. The focus is on dominance in the overall package. Kirsch points out that the software aspect in particular is important. Intel has 15,000 software developers, that’s more employees than AMD ever has. Platforms in general are also important. Technologies such as Thunderbolt, WiFi 6, Optane Memory and close collaboration with software developers such as Adobe are critical. Customers no longer buy a processor, they buy a platform. In addition, standards such as the upcoming Project Athena are points that speak for Intel. In the laptop segment, however, the company does not see itself threatened by AMD at all.

Kirsch and Collins also comment on pricing policy. Intel is a premium brand, and prices are also reflected in performance. While AMD is superior in some areas, Intels own processors are superior in some aspects too. That’s why they don’t change the prices. In the enterprise segment, customers are also more interested in the total package that they acquire with the purchase of Intel CPUs.

The whole article can be found on Reddit, TechPowerUp has also published a searchable transcript and some internal comments from Intel staff.

About Florian Maislinger 1222 Articles
Florian Maislinger is author and founder of PC Builder's Club. As a skilled IT engineer, he is very familiar with computers and hardware and has been a technology lover since childhood. He is mainly responsible for the news and our social media channels.

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