Okay, so AMD is not doing so well. At least from what the stock market would tell you.

For those of you who don’t know, AMD just released their new socket: AM3. The only difference from AM2+ is DDR3 support, which is slightly hindered. Overall, this will be good news for AMD. Their recently released Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition will appeal to enthusiasts overclockers, who have been hit by the financial crisis. The one thing that’s sorely missing from their line-up is a flagship AM3 product. It’s rumored to be the Phenom II X4 945 or 950, which will have an unlocked multiplier and will most likely run at 3.0 ghz or higher.

This is what they need to combat Intel. I’ll admit, Intel makes great processors…at a price. They’re better overclockers and usually kick the crap out of AMD in the benchmarks. When it comes to gaming, AMD is about equal really because the GPU takes over at a certain resolution (1600×1200 and higher usually.)

Here’s what tigerdirect.com says:

That’s good news for AMD. The 940 is selling well at newegg.com also. The only problem is that the 920, the lesser clocked version (not a black edition, either,) is not selling well at all. Unfortunately for AMD, the consumer sees no reason to buy it because they can simply drop $40 more and get a better processor that will definitely overclock better. If I were them, I’d drop that processor quickly.

I have a theory of why they haven’t even announced their next flagship processor yet. Here it is: The DDR3 issue that the new AM3 processors have is forcing them to hold off on releasing that flagship processor. This way, they fix the problem and unleash the new processor, allowing it to be used to it’s full potential.

AMD has just gotten out of the fabrication business and can now focus on getting it’s balance sheet in order. I’m sure that even Intel fanboys are hoping AMD survives because without AMD, those same fanboys would be forced to pay much more for their processors. Not to mention that innovation would come to a stand-still. Of course, Intel would still transition to a new fabrication process because that’s in their interest (lowers production costs, etc.) Beyond that, I think their tick-tock strategy would fall apart because they wouldn’t have any loyal opposition to drive their R & D department.

I’ll make a prediction: AMD is on the rise. AMD may not equal Intel in sheer performance (i.e Core i7 965 and 975 extreme edition,) but it will definitely be back in a position of power with the consumer with it’s price/performance ratio strategy that is especially relevant in this economic downturn. We can finally say it: AMD is back and ready to kick some Intel ass (So to speak.)