Thanks to its enormous production capacity Intel has a safe lead over its biggest foe, AMD, in terms of new manufacturing processes. At the start of next year, I.e. 2010, Intel will launch its first processors of the 32nm node, processors that are already functioning well and will go into mass production in Q4 2009. AMD will take considerably longer before it will announce any chips from the 32nm node and according to recent stories it will take between 6-9 months after Intel announces the industry’s first.
Earlier statements by AMD has pointed to mid-2010 for the first 32nm processors and if it would succeed it would mean that it is around 6 month behind Intel. This new information suggests the latter half, thus the third or worst case scenario fourth quarter, before we see any 32nm AMD processors.
It’s not unusual to see Intel ahead of AMD in the process race, but perhaps AMD can shrink the gap in the future after moving over the chip making to GlobalFoundries.
The Phenom II family comes from AMD’s 45nm technology
