The Dell deal
In May 2006 Dell, then the largest computer company in the world, decided to end a lifetime of monogamy with Intel and get into bed with AMD. At the time, perhaps understandably, this was viewed as a major coup for AMD. However, when the channel started to complain of difficulty in obtaining stock, it began to look anything but a coup.
AMD has always maintained that the two things were unrelated, and perhaps AMD might not have intended, or especially wished, the Dell deal to adversely affect its established channel business. But the bottom line is that AMD seemed unable to successfully deliver to both and, like it or not, the channel drew its own conclusions and many felt abandoned by AMD.
Like it or not, the channel drew its own conclusions and many felt abandoned by AMDAround the time of the launch of the AMD Athlon 64 5200+ processor (late 2006), HEXUS received reports that some of AMD's largest and previously most loyal UK customers, were even refusing to accept invitations to discuss offers of cooperative marketing activities supported by AMD Marketing Development Funds (MDF).
This because those businesses couldn't even purchase
stocks of Athlon 64 5000+, yet Dell had been privileged by AMD and was shipping
the just-announced 5200+ parts.
'Sell Conroe'
Other sources recounted to HEXUS that, upon asking senior AMD sales people what
they suggested these businesses should do to survive (without the immediately
availability or even a firm indication of delivery lead times of the AMD
processors that had been ordered and were needed to fulfill on existing customers orders), they were shockingly told
'sell [Intel] Conroe'.
Furthermore, we've long wondered whether AMD, in gleefully entering into a full-blown business relationship with Dell, effectively rushed
into a well-crafted Intel ambush that might've significantly weakened AMD's
anti-trust case against Intel.
Through the years, Intel's strong financial support of Dell was probably one of the most critical factors in Dell's success, which in turn kept it an Intel-only house for so long.
Consequently, we think it pretty inconceivable that Dell would finally embrace AMD and its products in the quite sudden way that it did, if Intel hadn't effectively given Dell the nod.
And that begs questions as to the relevance of the timing against the back-drop of AMD's anti-trust claims in the courts.
As if things weren't already complicated enough, then came the matter of ATI Technologies…
