Following on from AMD ex-employee comments over the buyout of ATI, details have also been revealed that Apple had seriously considered AMD's fusion Llano cores for the 2011 MacBook, with the combination of a CPU and powerful mid-range GPU on a single die an appealing prospect.
The prospect fell through, however, when AMD was unable to achieve the required yields with GlobalFoundries and its 32nm production process. There is disagreement amongst the employees of just how close AMD came, with one stating "We had it, but the yields didn't come in."
With such a large amount of business lost, we can understand rumours over AMD's increased reliance on TSMC, with one employee stating that the firm had been saved by its ability to produce the low-end 'Ultrathin'-targeted Brazos cores at a low cost on TSMC's well established 40nm process.
With Intel now upping the ante with improved integrated graphics on its upcoming Ivy Bridge processors, AMD has a long way to go to regain the ground it lost last year, with such an appealing and well differentiated product now in direct competition with Intel's latest offerings.
More details to come!
