Yes, you heard that right! It’s been a very exciting year for computer enthusiasts and IT professionals as AMD released its new CPU line. Not only do they have great potential, they also clearly target each market segment making it easy to select the right CPU for your needs.
The three product lines are Ryzen, Threadripper and Epyc. Ryzen is designed for the general public with a lower price than its rival, Intel, and the promise of performance equal to Intel’s High End Consumer CPUs. Threadripper is designed for the enthusiasts, the gamers, and people who are into video editing, rendering and other jobs heavy on multitasking. And then there’s Epyc. This is a product for the datacenter/server market. This is also a market that is dominated by Intel and where the majority of their sales come from. Should AMD’s Epyc do well in this market segment, it would greatly affect Intel’s market share.
Intel has also released its 8th Generation CPU with a promise of a 40% speed boost over its previous generation. The price, like previous generations when released, remains at a premium. It’s the best CPU money can buy.
Historically, AMD manufactured CPUs for Intel from the early 70s to the late 80s until they decided to compete with Intel during the 90s. Both companies have been in competition ever since. AMD gained the upper hand when it released the Athlon series from 2003 to 2006. Intel, having learned its lesson, released the Core 2 Series and was able to regain the market share from AMD. Intel has had the majority of the CPU market until now.
As long as AMD and Intel keep it a clean and honest competition, we (the consumers and corporations) would greatly benefit from this. It would mean a superior product at an affordable price. Whatever the outcome, we will know next year as production and sales of personal computers and servers are sold by popular makers such as Lenovo, Dell, IBM and others.