Since the early 1980s, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) market been a duopoly, and while new players like ARM and Imagination have grown considerably thanks to the rise of mobile computing, to this day, when building a desktop or a server, you often have just two choices: Intel or AMD.

While Intel has always enjoyed a comfortable lead, it was challenged by its rival every step of the way and this competition has moved microprocessor technology forward. In 2006, AMD started manufacturing its own GPUs, getting into a fight with another dominant chipmaker – Nvidia.

Competition

Today, AMD is much smaller than it was at the turn of the century, but also more agile. Its chips are found in a number of cutting-edge computers incuding Apple’s “radical” Mac Pro workstations, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4.The AMD brand still enjoys a dedicated following around the world, especially in PC enthusiast circles.

But the company’s ultimate weapon was revealed in January – the eight-core Opteron A1100 server chip, based on architecture designed by none other than Cambridge-based ARM.

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