AMD's Fab 36 Grand Opening - 90nm and 300mm in Germany
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 14, 2005 7:50 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
AMD Draws a Crowd: German Chancellor Schröder Arrives
After the initial press conference we took a short bus ride to an outside tent where both Dr. Deppe and Dr. Ruiz gave a few words about Dresden and Fab 36, before handing the mic off to German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
One point to note was the constant mentioning of "fair competition" in all of Dr. Ruiz speeches, obviously referring to AMD's recent lawsuit against Intel. Dr. Ruiz also mentioned AMD's 50-by-15 goal; that by 2015, 50% of the world will be "connected", partially in thanks to an increase in production of AMD's products. Intel has also outlined their plans for 2015, which we've covered in the past.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Chancellor Schröder also made it a point to mention the importance of such a large investment in Dresden, being a part of former East Germany, while stressing that the incoming German government should make it a point to encourage similar investments in the future.
Chancellor Schröder also briefly touched on the topic of fair competition and how Germany's cooperation with AMD has been in the spirit of fair competition, also clearly in reference to AMD's recent lawsuit.
Governer of Saxony, Professor Dr. Georg Milbradt
Dresden is located in the German state of Saxony, and next up was the Governer of the State of Saxony, Professor Dr. Georg Milbradt. Professor Milbradt spoke of the history of Saxony from its humble beginnings to being a center for semiconductor manufacturing thanks to companies like AMD and Siemens.
Professor Milbradt's speech also took a political tone, as he stressed the importance of the new federal government to do even more to encourage investments such as AMD's in Dresden. He stressed that the investments are necessary in order to make Saxony and Dresden competitive in the EU and in the world.
Both Milbradt and Schröder hinted that AMD should definitely consider Dresden for their next fab plant, which Dr. Ruiz mentioned could potentially begin construction as early as 2008.
More 300mm wafers, we counted at least 5 today, that should be enough for at least a few Athlon 64 X2s.
The speeches were concluded with a ceremonial "raising of the wafer" as a 300mm wafer rose from the stage and was presented to Dresden, the state of Saxony and Dresden.
The events at Fab 36 in Dresden are just beginning, we're about to head to a Q&A session followed by some technical tracks and tours of the new plant.
AMD is hopefully going to present us with their future plans later today, which we've been looking forward to ever since Intel's IDF announcements. We'll see if AMD can deliver a more interesting look at their future than the ambiguity that we've been given in the past; stay tuned.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
70 Comments
View All Comments
JarredWalton - Saturday, October 15, 2005 - link
Jarred needs to not use the word "though" as much. That's what happens when you post without proper proofing.... *grumble*coldpower27 - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Well said:)Well with Fab 36 coming online, this and AMD's Fab 30 are AMD's only fabs for CPU production so you can basically say regarding the CPU market AMD only has 2 90nm Fabs, 1 with 200mm Wafer tech and 1 with 300mm Wafer tech.
Well let me see Intel currently has Fab D1C, D1D, 11x, 24 that I know of currently that are on 90nm & 300 mm Wafer production. Intel is also converting Fab 18 for 90nm production on 200mm Wafers.
For 65nm production, Intel is converting existing 90nm D1D which is 300mm Wafer. Plus 2 more Fabs for 65nm production which are Fab 12 & 24-2 also with 300 mm Wafers
Intel also has Fab 17, 20 & 22 for 130nm production with 200mm Wafers.
Intel & AMD both have auxilirary Fabs for other productions such as flash memory for example.
But suffice it to say, Intel currently commands far more capacity then AMD does.
In the last year for Intel & AMD their gross incomes were 34.2 Billion vs 5 Billion.
Yeah I also dislike when people say general statements like AMD 130nm products are better then 90nm products, as it won't hold for all cases.
Griswold - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Oh joy, 65nm and a inferior design vs. 90nm with a superior design and later on the same at 65nm. Thats not nearly as disappointing as what intel fed us over the last 2 years.trooper11 - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
what is so dissapointing here?amd was later to the 90nm game then intel, but you dont see it hurting them much at all?
hey if I have to wait an extra 6 months for 65nm that will be as much a success as the 90nm parts, then im more then happy with this.
KristopherKubicki - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
The first 65nm chips are slated for January, but you wont see a full transition particularly in the server sector till the middle of next year. This time next year they won't have any 90nm chips if their roadmaps are correct.Kristopher
Questar - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Kristopher,The AMD press release disagrees with your timeline:
With the production ramp in Fab 36 progressing on schedule, the company intends to make 90nm production shipments in the first quarter of 2006 and begin 65nm production by the end of 2006. AMD has set a goal to be substantially converted to 65nm in Fab 36 by mid-2007.
Questar - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Whoops, I just realized you were talking about Intel roadmaps.I suck.
coldpower27 - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
Isn't he refering to Intel? Regarding the Presler processors?Questar - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
That's a direct quote, I forgo to add the quote marks :(DAPUNISHER - Friday, October 14, 2005 - link
With the ability to supply a much larger percentage of the market in the relatively near future, perhaps Dell&AMD will finally be able to do business?The litigation against Intel may prove beneficial, even without a favorable ruling, if it prevents Intc from leaning on Dell to remain exclusive. Certainly, they should continue to be able to provide very aggressive pricing to Dell, but without any potentially heavy-handed conditions/terms attached.