Why Are Laptop Manufacturers Still Using Intel Processors over AMD? | Hacker News Reader

Why Are Laptop Manufacturers Still Using Intel Processors over AMD?

pcquest.com

8 pointsaspen972 comments

I don't think that has anything to do with "support". Intel had a sh*tload of problems with their laptop CPUs, (eg. bugs, coil-whine, security problems galore, etc.). The main reason is more likely long standing supply contracts of manufacturers. I'm not sure if AMD or their fabs even had the capacity to supply all the run-of-the-mill PC manufacturers.

I am not in a serious place of knowledge, but I don't know how much I agree with this.

Isn't TSMC making CPUs/GPUs for basically everyone; Apple(mobile, computer soon), Qualcomm, Samsung, AMD, Nvidia? Perhaps an argument can be made that those other companies get first dibs. However, I imagine if AMD showed up with an order for all Thinkpad made in 2021, things might be different because TSMC likely charges more per unit for AMD's bigger/ more complex (up to 20 Billion T) CPUs than say an 865.

Not to mention both the next gen game consoles are AMD 7nm zen setups. So if TSMC cares about volume more than per device profit, that is a boat-load of devices that are going to be produced for the next 7 years without much retooling.

I really think it might be support. AMD's 4800u is the vastly superior to Intel's 10nm offering, but that wasn't as true last gen. It was:

- A wash, at similar clocks, in the single threaded workloads

- Intel had a clock lead(still does)

- AMD just had a slight core count lead

Of course, AMD totally lead on consumer pricing. That said, I imagine after decades of work with all the major computer manufacturers, Intel knew how to cut the right volume deal to make it worth HP or Dells time. Also what if a partner want some SSDs and wifi cards on the cheap, go Intel and another deal can be had without having to figure out where else to source parts from. What if a partner wants to cheap out on a model with a spinning disk but want the user to still be okay up front, intel optane cache cards do help things along and can't be used in cache mode with non-intel CPUs.

The landscape is way different post zen 2, AMD leads on all things but frequency and power efficiency. But lets say you want a 5 watt part, what does AMD offer? What about a 45 watt laptop part? How bout support for quickly and cheaply building / differentiating your bread and butter mainstream laptops? I know they seem like an afterthought to "pro" customers but things like Project Athena or the Ultrabook reference designs and branding might really help keep cost down while keeping visibility up. (I have no idea though)

Really though, I know that was long but I have no truly informed opinions. Care to expand?

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