Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), the world's second-largest maker of computer microprocessors, began selling new graphics chips and announced plans to challenge Intel Corp with a redesigned desktop processor.
The company started selling 10 new graphics processors for personal computers yesterday, updating a product line that has lost market share to Nvidia Corp. The new processor for desktop computers, called Phenom, will go on sale in the second half, said Stephen DiFranco, an AMD vice president, at a presentation in San Francisco.
The company is refreshing its products to try to win back sales from its bigger rivals. Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker, and Nvidia, the second-biggest producer of graphics chips behind Intel, have lured away customers with new chips. That's contributed to two money-losing quarters at Sunnyvale, California-based AMD.
"Intel's been pretty aggressive," said Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies in Wayland, Massachussetts. "AMD is basically on the ropes and fighting back."
AMD reported a US$611 million first-quarter loss last month after Santa Clara, California-based Intel took 6 percentage points of PC processor market share. Nvidia, also based in Santa Clara, said its sales jumped 24 percent in the first quarter and reported profits that beat estimates.
Nvidia released chips last year that are compatible with Microsoft Corp's latest graphics software, helping it win sales. AMD is adding that same capability to its new chips.
"We'll have the best performance at each price point," said Rick Bergman, AMD's vice president of graphics.
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