AMD's FX-8150 'Bulldozer' processor

Tick-tock. Tick-tock. The sound of Intel's ongoing CPU development cycle has been constantly in the backdrop for its biggest competitor, AMD, ever since the world's largest chipmaker set an aggressive cadence for itself more than five years ago. Since then, Intel has turned over new manufacturing technologies followed by extensively revised CPU architectures in relentless succession. The introduction of Sandy Bridge processors at the beginning of this year put Intel firmly in the lead in terms of overall performance, power efficiency, and the value proposition offered to consumers.

Being the perennial number-two CPU maker in such a competitive context can't be easy, but AMD hasn't taken the challenge lightly. In fact, the firm has been working for several years on a brand-new breed of PC processors based on a fresh microarchitecture, code-named "Bulldozer," that aims to restore some competitive balance.