Advanced Micro Devices is gaining share in the memory market from rival Intel and is poised to lure major computer makers to its new heavy-duty microprocessor, its chief executive said Monday. AMD CEO Hector Ruiz said in an interview that the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company was prepared to announce key customers for Opteron, its line of more data-intensive chips due in April that is AMD"s biggest new product in four years.
"We are working with all of the top five" computer makers, Ruiz said, referring to the preliminary testing and evaluation period that normally precedes the decision by any computer maker to build machines based on a new chip. Ruiz made the comments at the sidelines of a conference of technology leaders held ahead of the opening of CeBit, the annual tech extravaganza held in Hannover, Germany. An AMD representative said the company would not name computer maker customers until April, but it hoped that at least one major PC maker would be ready to build Opteron-based PCs by the April 22 launch date, with others to follow.
"I believe we will be able to give some very specific names" at the April 22 launch, Ruiz said of the computer makers that will use AMD"s chips to build server PCs, the computers used to manage business operations.