AMD to Custom-design CPUs for the Chinese Government

[cadaveca]

Reverse engineering a chip with 100,000 transistors is easy compared to the processors today with transistor counts in the billions.

That's why they need AMD's help. Albeit temporarily.

However, your point about WHY they need x86 is rather interesting. I'm sure they could just steal the lithography and just start producing their own, assuming they can build their own fabs.

But then, the cost of doing so is so vast that it only makes sense for them to do what they did, and just pay for what they want, rather than try to make copies. Certain things just aren't worth the effort, and they pay for it. Hence them owning so much real estate and industry in other countries. Their presence in the local oil industry is embarrassing.

 

[HumanSmoke]

IIRC AMD's first x86 chip was reverse engineered from Intel's design.

Aye. Jerry Sanders authorized the Am386 program - Project Longhorn, in 1989. Fully reverse-engineered using only publicly available information. Didn't stop Intel winning IP infringement damages of $58m in 1995 (offset by AMD winning $10m in damages in 1993, $18m plus a 386 license and the right to outsource 20% of x86 production to third-party foundries in 1995)

Based on PRC's history, we have no doubt that they will steal and strongarm some company (TSMC,Samsung or one of their homegrown foundries?) to produce copies.

Or maybe just gobble up a foundry company like SMIC that have all but been squeezed out of the business.

Intel refused to license x86 so reverse engineering was the only option. Then came IBM which, in order to use Intel CPUs, they demanded Intel license it out (especially to AMD) because they wouldn't work with a monopoly.

It actually happened in the opposite order. IBM demanded a second source for the 8088/8086 because Intel were a relatively new (and small) player in the market - and the bulk of their foundry capacity was given over to high profit DRAM and EPROM. By the time the 386 arrived, IBM was largely a spent force in the PC market (Microsoft and Intel had gained dominance thanks to the 80286 PC clone market). Intel basically kept AMD hanging with regards the 386. Intel had no use for a licensed competitors any more - too many like Harris, AMD, Fujitsu, and Siemens were undercutting Intel's own product. The strategy was that everyone expected AMD to get a 386 license so it kept larger companies such as Hitachi and NEC from making approaches to AMD for partnership deals. Intel intended to keep AMD strung along on that assumption until the big players lost interest in AMD. Sanders took a while to figure what was going on, but finally authorized Project Longhorn when he realized he wasn't getting a 386 license. AMD initiated litigation in 1986 for breach of good faith, and greenlit Longhorn in 1989.

Reverse engineering a chip with 100,000 transistors is easy compared to the processors today with transistor counts in the billions.

Just to play the pedant, the 80386 has 275,000 transistors.

 

[remixedcat]

AMD are sluts!!

 

[Caring1]

AMD are sluts!!

Everyone is for the right money.

 

[xenocide]

AMD! For when you have literally no other option!

 

[arterius2]

the media brainwashing in this thread is real.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The media never talks about AMD so how could that be?

 

[arterius2]

The media never talks about AMD so how could that be?

Wasn't talking about AMD.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Care to elaborate?

 

[arterius2]

Care to elaborate?

Oh no, I dare not! or I'd be called names and labeled as unpatriotic. But I just imagine that the furthest those people ventured is probably their backyard.

 

[Caring1]

the media brainwashing in this thread is real.

Not sure about you, but I have traveled through Asia including China, and what has been said in this thread has been correct.

 

[rtwjunkie]

labeled as unpatriotic

How exactly would someone label you as that in an international forum? That's actually one thing I have never seen on on here.