This is pretty important for AMD because they've been having a terrible time matching Intel at per cycle efficiency. Basically, ever since the core i series started, AMD has been behind at single threaded performance, especially when going clock for clock. They've been trying to make up for it by both offering more cores/threads than comparably priced Intel components, as well as trying to scale their clock rates. Unfortunately for AMD, their last few generations have actually been falling short on their attempts to boost clock rates, as a result, when comparing comparably priced AMD and Intel chips, while AMD would typically have a clock speed advantage, it would often not be enough to overcome Intel's efficiency.
This product release is kind of an attempt to show that AMD can actually deliver on their planned strategy.
As for why AMD is going for this route, rather than trying to beat Intel in per clock efficiency? Probably because AMD's resources are severely limited compared to Intel, and this approach offered lower risk at lower cost.
This product release is kind of an attempt to show that AMD can actually deliver on their planned strategy.
As for why AMD is going for this route, rather than trying to beat Intel in per clock efficiency? Probably because AMD's resources are severely limited compared to Intel, and this approach offered lower risk at lower cost.