Intel single-handedly dominated the computer market with over 90% market share. But in 2019, due to AMD’s popularity and performance, its market share dropped to around 60%. Seeing this, people were saying that Intel’s time is over. Even at one point, Intel was in such bad shape that they sold their smartphone modem division to Apple for just $1 billion. Intel sold its entire smartphone modem division to Apple for $1 billion. Intel is finally out of the smartphone modem business after a massive $1 billion deal. But what Intel has done inside its CPUs is that AMD is currently unable to even come close to it in performance. Be it productivity or gaming. So the first reason behind this is Intel’s DNA. So Robert and Golden started Intel on July 18, 1968. And you’ll be shocked to know that Intel didn’t start making processors. They made memory chips that were used in calculators, mini computers and military defense systems. But when BSCOM, a Japanese company requested Intel to develop a CPU for them, Intel after much execution and planning finally started working on the processor and in 1971 produced their first microprocessor Intel 404. It was not only Intel’s, but the world’s first commercially available single chip processor that anyone could buy, and this CPU 20 was built on the Translist Translist 2 unit. CPU is the main unit. The more transistors you have, the faster your CPU will be. With the success of the Intel 404, it seemed as if Intel saw its future in this sector. So they focused only on R&D for 22 years and on March 22, 1993, Intel launched its most powerful and most famous processor Intel PTM. The PTM processor was many times more powerful than the previous processor as it had more than 31 lakh transistors, which started to dominate the market as soon as it was launched. From a report, we come to know that in 1994, Intel had about 90% market share and after the launch of Plantum, their revenue was Rs.8.78 billion and since then, it seemed as if Intel’s monopoly had started because then there was no one to compete with Intel. Looking at the success of Paytm, Intel introduced PTM Pro, the first microprocessor for servers and professionals in November 1995. And exactly 2 years later, PTM MMX for general users. And both processors turned out to be very successful. Which is why in 2008 we got the first Core i line up 7 which was code named Nehal. After that in 2009 we got the Core i5 line up for the mid range price market and in 2010 we got the Core i3 line up for the intermediate level price market. But the fun started when Intel introduced its Core i9 family in 2017 that was purely aimed at performance. But if you look at it this way, in 2017 its price went from 64,000 to 13,30,000. The second point is Intel’s downfall. When Intel introduced the Core i9 family in 2017, Intel’s decline began. Because coincidentally AMD also brought out its new RZ Thread Reaper CPUs built on the new Zen architecture in the same year. At the time the Intel Core i9 was launched with 10 cores and 20 threads. At the same time, you used to get 16 cores and 32 threads in Ryzon Thread Ripper and both cost almost the same at ₹64,000, which means you get better value for performance ratio in AMD and AMD used this same formula in the budget segment as well, which is why Intel’s countdown started but didn’t stop even after its new AMD2arch was launched. The Ryzen 3000 series is where Intel is still making 14 nanometer base CPUs. At the same time AMD changed its platform from 14 nanometers directly to 7 nanometers, which made it possible to put cores and IOs on separate dies. And AMD was able to add more cores inside its processors, due to which their manufacturing costs also decreased a lot. As a result, both performance and efficiency are increased and costs are greatly reduced. But still some people were preferring Intel for gaming. Because it gives you option to share cache, which gives better gaming performance. So AMD analyzed this very well and next year in November 2020 AMD launched its new Zen 3 architecture with RZ 5000 CPU where the design is further refined and improved. And for the first time the C case was integrated and doubled so that the jump in gaming performance happened just like that. At that time Ryzen 55600X became everyone’s favorite processor because you got good efficiency and performance in it. While AMD continued to grow, Intel was losing market share. But still they didn’t change their design from 140 nanometers. Basically, the smaller the architecture, the more powerful and efficient your processor will be. This is a simple rule. But I don’t know why Intel didn’t realize this simple rule back then. Even in the beginning they thought they were the real king of this market. Apart from that, Intel had another problem, that was sockets. Whenever we buy a CPU, it needs to be installed on the motherboard. But the connection between CPU and motherboard is in a fixed design. We call it a socket. Each socket follows a specific design size and pin arrangement. If your processor’s socket type and your motherboard’s socket type are not the same, you cannot install that CPU on that motherboard. But the problem occurs when brands introduce a new socket type with a new CPU. But this is where AMD has earned public trust. AMD’s AM4 socket was used by AMD for about 5 years. In 2017, from the Ryzen 1000 series directly to the Ryzen 5000 series, the socket remained the same. As a result, people simply upgrade the CPU very easily. They didn’t need to upgrade any motherboard or RAM PCU. This is why most people migrated to AMD because upgrading was pocket friendly. But Intel’s situation was completely different. Intel changes its socket every 2 years. Sometimes LG 1151, sometimes LG 1200, sometimes LG700. That’s why people have to buy a new motherboard with a new CPU. This is why people mostly avoid Intel to upgrade. That’s why AMD’s market share has doubled. PS5 went from 10% to 20% in just 3 years Xbox, seeing AMD’s reputation and popularity, chose AMD RX 6000 series GPU for their console. Now that it’s Intel’s turn to return to the market with a new CPU, the same place Intel has launched its 11th Gen CPU which is the worst performing in the market. Intel hasn’t seen such bad times since its founding. And in the meantime, there was a rumor in the market that Intel was going to sell its business. The third point is that Intel’s role is reversed. When the 11th Gen CPUs performed very poorly in the market, Intel realized that if they were to survive in the market, they had to do something new and innovative very quickly. That’s why in October of the same year, Intel launched its 12th Gen CPUs with hybrid architectures that were inspired by CPUs in smartphones. Where there are different cores for performance and efficient work. And this processor created a sensation as soon as it was launched in the market. Thanks to Intel’s new hybrid architecture. Whereas there was P core for performance oriented work and E core for skilled and routine work. Even at this time Intel changed its platform from 14 nanometers to 10n. Through this people begin to gain both efficiency and performance. Seeing the success of 12th Gen, Intel launched its next generation CPUs in October 2022 where the E cores doubled and at that time Intel i5 13600 offered you the best value for performance with 14 cores also under 30000. After the success of 12th and 13th Gen, Intel slowly gained its market share That’s why they didn’t launch any new processors for 1 year so that people could use them better and the trust that went to AMD came back to Intel. Then comes October 2023 where Intel launches its 14th generation models where performance is improved but efficiency is greatly increased as Intel finally switched from 10 nanometers and moved its architecture to 7 nanometers and AI was booming at that time. This is why Intel has also introduced dedicated MP units in its processors that go up to 40 plus TOPS in the flagship models so that no one has to compromise. TOPS essentially represents the speed of AI. Also, this generation supports higher speed DDR5 RAM PCLE J5 native Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 7. Due to which this generation has performed well in all aspects be it gaming or productivity. But it’s not like AMD hasn’t innovated or upgraded its CPUs since then. AMD’s X3D models still perform horribly in gaming. So if we look overall, in desktop and notebook Intel holds roughly 70 to 75% and AMD approximately 25 to 30% market share. So Intel suffered for almost 4 years. Memes were created, intel was trolled. But Intel has quietly worked on its strategy and made a smart comeback. AMD shook up the market and is still a dangerous competitor to Intel’s X3D and Zen5 architectures. But now Intel is back and the game is balanced.
