AMD channel panic as foundry runs dry

Successful product launches rely on a hundred things going right, and just a single, well placed, problem can seriously impact the well laid plans of VPs and men. Phenom II X6 has just hit such a bump in the road(map) and there’s no sign of a quick solution.

Word has reached KitGuru HQ that AMD’s launch of the new X6 processors has created so much demand that the Foundry is simply unable to deliver.

Supplies of the Phenom II X6 1090 have been bled dry, back orders placed and (we’re told) there’s little chance of seeing more product in the channel until the end of June.

The strange thing is that the ‘win’ for multi-core technology is not always clear. Certainly looking at the initial reviews of X6 systems, the mainstream press seem unconvinced. Tech sites that were seeded with 1090/890 combinations seem happier. So what’s the cause of the drought?

We’re prepared to believe this AMD sell out has been caused by a combination of greed for multi-national orders and the F-X Factor.

Presenting Q2 figures to Wall Street is made easier when you score big deals with the major brands, so when Dell & Co pull out the cheque book, you just say “Thank you” and deliver. Then we have the hardcore of AMD’s high-end customers (former owners of FX processors), who have been glued to the tech sites, waiting for something (anything), that would clock past 4GHz – and the 1090 chip is it.

KitGuru says: We know that AMD is desperate to make in-roads into the major brands. Having created a special, low cost, 6 core product specifically for the likes of Dell and Acer (not available to KitGuru readers in the channel), it’s possible that one or two deals into this market have depleted overall stocks, significantly reducing the availability of the 1090 for enthusiasts. The tragedy is that Muppets across the globe will be buying non-descript Acer desktops with super-charge-capable X6 processors…   and never know it. Like Jenna Jameson spending her life in a convent. A little sad really.

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