AMD heeft meteen gereageerd op de opmerkingen van Dell dat AMD-producten niet goed genoeg zouden zijn voor Dell-klanten. Verder is er commentaar van analisten. Men zegt dat het probleem van AMD niet zozeer de processor zelf is, maar de chipset en het beperkte aantal ontwerpen. Je kunt maar één type Athlon kiezen, terwijl er van vrijwel elke Pentium III meerdere versies bestaan. (wederom, thanx Arjan voor de tip!)
AMD and Analysts respond to Michael Dell's comments on AMD architectureIn an interview Thursday, Michael Dell spoke of fragility within "the AMD environment" that could undermine the integrity of his company's brand. Speaking specifically about the work his engineers had done with the Athlon processor, Dell said reliability was utmost on his mind and that his customers demanded reliable systems. AMD, he said, could not offer that reliability.
Keith Diefendorff, Editor in Chief of the internationally renowned Microprocessor Report, told ZDNet Thursday night that as far as he was aware there were "no concerns about compatibility with the Athlon" that he had heard of, but he knew there were concerns over the chipsets for the Athlon range. "The chipset thing is AMD's biggest issue" said Diefendorff, "although they don't see it that way.
"The problem for AMD is that the PC industry is changing: new memory systems, new techniques etc. and Intel has a lot of people working to design the latest and best chipsets and, more importantly, it comes out with lots of designs. With AMD there is a limited choice."
Asked whether he thought Dell's comments would have a negative affect on AMD's perception in the PC arena he said: "Actually no, I don't. However I do think it illustrates clearly a point about AMD and the problems it has faced in the past. AMD has always had a very hard time breaking into the corporate arena... And that has a lot to do with Intel's position in this market: it's big, it's able to deal with problems better in the minds of the corporates. I think what's important here is that AMD continues to deliver products that are good and reliable." Diefendorff recently awarded AMD's Athlon with the prestigious MDR microprocessor of the year award.