Fewer Dell machines have AMD inside
Dell Inc. has stopped selling many computers with processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on its website, although it will continue selling some through retailers.
The news was a setback for AMD, which wooed Dell for years before breaking the computer maker’s exclusive supplier relationship with Intel Corp. in 2006. Intel still made the processors used in most computers sold by Dell online. But AMD raised its profile in the chip field by being inside some Dell machines.
Shares of Dell rose 2 cents to $19.45 on Friday, and AMD shares fell 25 cents to $6.34.
Dell’s move caused an online stir that the company tried to tamp down. A spokesman, David Frink, called the development -- which Dell disclosed on the company’s website -- “not even all that interesting.”
“We regularly adjust our product offerings and how customers can purchase those products,” he said. “The majority of our consumer AMD-based systems are available through our retail partners and telephone sales.”
Frink said Dell was “committed to the AMD product line as a long-term partner to provide flexibility and maximum choice for our customers.”
The Dell site will continue to offer desktop and notebook computers and servers with AMD processors for business customers and a single consumer-oriented desktop model with an AMD processor.
About 80% of Dell’s sales are made to business, government and education customers, and 20% to consumers. The company is trying to bolster its consumer business by breaking from its strict reliance on Internet and phone orders and offering machines through retailers.
Dell machines with AMD processors can still be bought at retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co.
AMD spokesman John Taylor said his firm could benefit from Dell’s push into retail sales, and the shift at Dell online “is not a near-term significant financial impact on AMD.”
“We feel very good about the relationship with Dell and the growth ramp we’ve experienced,” he said.
Roger Kay, a technology analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates, said the harm to AMD could be minimal if Dell sticks with AMD processors for machines sold through retailers. But, he said, AMD might be pressured into cutting prices on those chips.
AMD “may be very aggressive about pricing to protect volume,” Kay said. “That would help Dell, because retail is more price-sensitive.” He said lower-priced processors could help Dell compete on store shelves against machines from Acer and Hewlett-Packard Co.
