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AMD admits to struggling with HD 5000 demand
AMD's newest and fastest cards have impressed people with all-around incredible performance. There is no denying the great engineering behind AMD's 5000 series, but it has suffered in a crucial arena: manufacturing.
From the beginning, AMD has faced issues in supply, resulting in shortages for many cards in the line. The company recently spoke about these shortages, revealing their cause and outlining potential solutions. Dave Baumann, Product Manager for the series, spoke about production issues with TSMC, which resulted in a six-week manufacturing delay.
Without specifying the exact cause, Baumann indicated it was related to the increased complexity of 40nm GPUs. This produced lower-than-expected yields, but AMD did not push back their launch dates in response. Coupled with high demand, the company was simply overwhelmed. It is common to see shortages when a highly-hyped device launches. A recent example is the Apple iPhone, which has faced several shortages throughout its history.
The HD 5970 has impressed hardware reviewers and users around the world, easily attaining the title of the fastest card available. If no one can buy it, though, it won't matter -- Nvidia isn't far behind, and will seek to close the gap. Even a shortage lasting only a few weeks could cost AMD greatly.
From the beginning, AMD has faced issues in supply, resulting in shortages for many cards in the line. The company recently spoke about these shortages, revealing their cause and outlining potential solutions. Dave Baumann, Product Manager for the series, spoke about production issues with TSMC, which resulted in a six-week manufacturing delay.
Without specifying the exact cause, Baumann indicated it was related to the increased complexity of 40nm GPUs. This produced lower-than-expected yields, but AMD did not push back their launch dates in response. Coupled with high demand, the company was simply overwhelmed. It is common to see shortages when a highly-hyped device launches. A recent example is the Apple iPhone, which has faced several shortages throughout its history.
The HD 5970 has impressed hardware reviewers and users around the world, easily attaining the title of the fastest card available. If no one can buy it, though, it won't matter -- Nvidia isn't far behind, and will seek to close the gap. Even a shortage lasting only a few weeks could cost AMD greatly.
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User Comments (76)
Post a comment| lfg18 on November 25, 2009 5:20 PM | I have a radeon 3850 and it's a very good card, I just can't
wait to get my hands on this new cards, anyway I think is
very infortunate for AMD to face this shortage since it's
the first time in a lot of time since they are in the lead.
I prefer Radeaon, their cards tend to be cheaper than those
by NVIDIA, so I hope they sort it out soon  .
|
| TomSEA on November 25, 2009 5:32 PM | No kidding about the shortage. I had a few extra pennies in
the bank account so been shopping for a Radeon 5870 and
there's literally none to be had. Every company I've Google
shopped or Binged for lists the 5870 as being for sale, but
also show it as out of stock with earliest delivery at the
end of December. Must be disappointing for AMD who has been 2nd behind nVidia forever it seems. And now that they have better products, can't produce them fast enough. |
| Deso on November 25, 2009 5:33 PM | I've been waiting quite a while now to buy the 5850
:/ I've allways been a nvidia fan and was gonna get the 5850 because there was no way I was gonna wait for the new fermi, now it seams im gonna wait long anyways to get it.... |
| Vrmithrax on November 25, 2009 5:37 PM | Well, look at it this way... Would you rather have your
products sitting on shelves collecting dust while your
competition sells their superior product constantly, or be
the biggest demand right now and unable to keep the product
in stock? AMD may be having supply issues, and sales
shortages, but at least they know they have a hot product,
and the competition is scrambling to meet the
challenge. The tipping point will be if AMD can't get enough product out there, frustrates too many consumers itching to buy, and then nVidia hits the market with even an inferior (but close in performance) product. If they haven't fixed their supply problems, they may throw the advantage back over to nVidia again, basically shooting themselves in the foot - maybe even both feet, in that case. |
| deadmongol on November 25, 2009 5:39 PM | @lfg18 i agree, im also a radeon user, so i prefer radeon
rather than nvidia not only its cheaper but the performance
is not that far away on nvidia counterparts, and now that it
is on the lead with it's new 5970 card, it's facing
shortage. I expected shortage though, well it IS the fastest
card available after all. you know what i mean.
|
| Didou on November 25, 2009 5:45 PM | They've had the same supply problems with the previous generation (4xxx) & since nVidia uses the company to fabricate their chips (TSMC), they'll probably run into supply shortages as well. |
| Kibaruk on November 25, 2009 6:04 PM | I currently have an HD2600XT and works like a charm, still
plays the most recent games and I cant complain, at
all! For once am loving the idea AMD (ATI) is above (even if it is a little gap) Nvidia, always hearing from friends how they love Nvidia cards, and myself with the old 2600 hehe. |
| vangrat on November 25, 2009 6:24 PM | I am currently running a HD4870 as such I may wait for DX11 games to really hit the market, and then swap over to a future ati card, the 5k series looks brilliant however, make's me wonder what the 6k or whatever their next series is will be like. |
| ColdPreacher on November 25, 2009 6:26 PM | I currently run 2 x HD3870's and there fine for now. But judging by the reviews and the shortages the 5xxx series might be my next by. |
| klepto12 on November 25, 2009 6:45 PM | i am also one of the people waiting for the 5000 series to get back in stock so i can have my 5850 to gloat about to my friends. |
| matchu on November 25, 2009 7:06 PM | Vrmithrax said: That might be
kind of true, but NVIDIA is going to come up with their
next-gen cards, and AMD will lose their advantage.
Well, look at it this way... Would you rather have your products sitting on shelves collecting dust while your competition sells their superior product constantly, or be the biggest demand right now and unable to keep the product in stock? |
| red1776 on November 25, 2009 7:41 PM | This message bought to you by the Department of Redundancy
Department: I am not buying this "shortage" BS, the cards that are being released now (the 5000 and the Fermi) have been in process for at least two years! and 40nm tech is not new either. and now all of a sudden TSMC is getting bad yields? hogwash! ....as grampa used to say. i will bet you that on the day that Fermi is released, there will be enough 40nm wafers for every man,woman, and rugrat to have one if they want. I also say that there will be a lawsuit brought forth in the calendar year 2010 that alleges that TSMC held back production of the 40nm wafers for their biggest customer Nvidia. so C'mon everyone! get on board, lets show'em that they cant screw with.....Oh rats! my foil hat fell off...... |
| EXCellR8 on November 25, 2009 7:43 PM | I don't even see why there is such demand... as there are 0
released games that use DX11 I will be waiting awhile before I upgrade anyways... |
| mRaNDERSON on November 25, 2009 7:57 PM | There is a demand becasue they are competitive with DX10 and they are ready for the future. People who buy this stuff want the latest tech. |
| gwailo247 on November 25, 2009 8:01 PM | If there was a DX11 title out there that would have everyone rushing to upgrade, this might be a problem. By the time those games roll out these suckers will be at half the price. |
| bedouinrising on November 25, 2009 8:29 PM | the 5970 is incredibly oversized and overpriced - but it blows away the competition on every level. |
| saintbodhisatva on November 25, 2009 8:30 PM | was considering buying a 5x00 series card, but Im still leaning on Dx10 for now, rushing the purchase for these babies wouldn't do much yet for now. Pricing is still somewhat high, no games yet, and they're not even available! |
| klepto12 on November 25, 2009 8:31 PM | im with red on this one it is a load of hog wash that they are having bad yields on a 1 year old process dont make me laugh nvidia is probably paying them to hold ati back which in the end like red said will end in a lawsuit. |
| Guest on November 25, 2009 9:01 PM | Errr, Klepto...I think red was playing the satirical card. But I'm with ya on this...you just know the secret cabal of demonic aliens that REALLY own nvidia and TSMC are setting us up to be mind-controlled by some gizmo in Fermi, You and Charlie should don your red capes and stand at the streetcorner- I'll rendezvous with you when I can. |
| LazyNinja on November 25, 2009 9:38 PM | While I'd love to have a 5790 I don't see it being financially feasible for myself. Maybe a 5750/5770 in the new year when the prices drop a bit. |
| timljh on November 25, 2009 9:43 PM | I just got myself a 5750, it seems that there is no shortage at my place here for the 5000 series but I cant get any 4800 series that I planned to get initially. |
| mizumi on November 25, 2009 10:12 PM | Still waiting for the card to mature first. No real incentive to invest in one now since there's not a lot of DX11 games out there yet. My 4890 still able to support me for my gaming needs. ^^ |
| IvanAwfulitch on November 25, 2009 10:25 PM | A number of us, myself included haven't had much luck with
spare cash for this sort of thing. I'm still using a 9800
gtx +. It serves me well enough but it's showing its age a
little bit in terms of framerates on newer games on higher
resolutions and detail level. I personally would LOVE to get
my hands on a monster like the 5970. I don't even care if
DX11 is supported or not with most games yet. I just need a
new powerhouse to support me until games that DO use it come
out. But again, like many have already said, none of us are getting one until AMD starts making some better business choices with their card supplies. If they can make a push and get a big supply out to the market in time for the holidays, they're going to rake in a TON of dough and then they can improve their manufacturing and make their 40nm process easier. Whether it's by researching more efficient techniques, or by getting another factory to make these things, it'd be a step in the right direction for them. |
| wolfram on November 25, 2009 10:26 PM | I've got a 4850 and I'm pretty happy with it, however Crysis tells me it would seriously love a 5850 =) |
| klepto12 on November 25, 2009 10:27 PM | lol well all i know is the 40nm process is not a new process which means that they should not have problems on yields with it in turn that points a finger in the general direction of the bigger company aka Nvidia catch what im saying? |
