AMD Beating Nvidia On Intel Centrino 2 Graphics?

A delay to the launch of Intel's next-generation notebook platform, codenamed Montevina, has been sweet-and-sour news for Advanced Micro Devices, according to AMD Graphics Product Group GM Rick Bergman.

That's because the Montevina delay may have given Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD a head start on back-to-school season with its own new mobile platform, Puma, but on the flip side AMD's graphics side of the house is positioned for a big swing in getting its ATI products into the next wave of Intel-based notebooks that will be branded Centrino 2, Bergman told ChannelWeb last Friday.

"It's another reason why you go for that sweet spot," Bergman said while explaining AMD's graphics strategy of targeting the $200 to $300 segment of the discrete market. "You can use our new chips in notebooks but you can't use Nvidia's 100-watt thing."

He said that when Montevina does arrive in mid-July, AMD would see its discrete graphics share on the new platform jump markedly over the previous Intel notebook platform known as Santa Rosa.

"ATI is well-positioned there in notebooks. Our share in the Intel platforms, we have a much lower share in Santa Rosa, but it jumps 30 points in Montevina," Bergman said.

Intel in late May pushed back the release of the full Montevina platform from late June to early August, with a partial launch of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker's fifth-generation Centrino notebook platform set for mid-July, according to an Intel spokesperson. Two factors led to the delay -- a technical issue with the Intel 4 Series Express chipset and a paperwork hang-up in getting FCC certification for Centrino 2's basic WiFi chip.

Meanwhile, AMD showcased its Puma mobile platform and new dual-core Turion mobile processor at Taiwan's Computex show in early June. Versions of Puma will be designated under three new AMD initiatives that also touch the chip maker's desktop offerings, AMD Business Class, AMD Live and AMD Game.