All may not be so rosy over at Sunnyvale. AMD is reportedly experiencing a
supply shortage of its processors. While some may point their fingers at Dell
gobbling up supplies, AMD's Global Consumer Channel VP Stephen DiFranco said, in
similar reports at Ars
Technica and Tech Report, that
"Dell is really not a factor," and "hasn't really had much of an impact
yet."
DiFranco reasons that notebooks appeared on Dell's Web site only recently,
and desktops no more than two months earlier, thus having minimal impact on
demand so far.
When Dell announced it had finally made the leap of faith to
use AMD processors, the Texas PC maker cited that adequate levels of supply as
one of the reasons behind the decision to look beyond Intel.
The main reason, according to DiFranco, is that consumer demand is outrunning
supply.
"Typically, the channel prefers a lot of inventory in December," DiFranco
said. "This year we have seen demand spike earlier than anticipated, and our
engineering inventory has been off."
When asked if AMD has any concerns that its users may choose Intel processors
if supplies of AMD chips run dry, DiFranco responded, "We don't expect our users
to jump brand. Their loyalty comes from many years of dedication, and they're a
sophisticated group. We think they will stay loyal over the long term; they're
better served by sticking with AMD technology."