AMD GPU shortage delaying new PCs?
updated 01:55 pm EST, Thu November 5, 2009
AMD facing ATI Radeon GPU shortages
PC vendors that rely on AMD graphics cards are delaying their shipments scheduled for the first quarter of 2010 by nearly two months, say sources at the manufacturers, DigiTimes claimed on Thursday. Radeon HD 5000-series GPUs and HD 4000-series GPUs are reportedly facing shortages through a combination of factors. The shortage of the 40nm Radeon HD 5000 cards is due to a low yield at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 40nm factories, while the 4000-series GPUs scarcity is allegedly AMD's own doing as it has scaled back production of older technology after releasing the more advanced 40nm parts.
At the same time, AMD is said to have moved back its shipment of Mobility Radeon HD 5000 series notebook graphics to the start of 2010 from the end of 2009.
Apple and numerous Windows PC manufacturers rely on ATI's Radeon graphics chipsets, so the impact is expected to be fairly significant. The Mac producer counts on these heavily for its late 2009 iMacs as well as upgrade options in Mac Pros.
