Typo/error in the second to last paragraph: "...and has implied on in-storage processing." The word "on" can probably be deleted.
Solid state drives, even consumer models, seem to make use of relatively powerful processors, but Cavium was an expensive acquisition so Marvell needs to put that investment toward profitable work quickly.
I don't see ThunderX2 as a bomb of any sort. The market just hasn't really developed for ARM in the server space, despite not lack of effort from several vendors now. AMD is likely already well beyond the marketshare they had with their ARM server chips with EPYC despite only a few months of availability.
Why must ARM bomb? Please be serious, a competent server ARM chip would be good for everyone as it would probably result in significantly lower prices for everyone vis-a-via server chip prices.
I personally hope ThunderX2 is a huge success and whomever Qualacomm sells their design too is equally successful. A 4 way competition in server chips would finally bring prices down from the stratosphere they currently occupy.
Define stratosphere. Servers cost a fraction of what they cost ten years ago. And if you are going into the cloud they cost such minuscule amounts as to be almost meaningless. It's amazing how far your dollar goes in the server space these days...
Not sure why you wouldn't be measuring price by price/performance. Inflation makes the decrease even more dramatic. Not sure why you call it extortion either. I'm no Intel fan but seriously their margins aren't significantly higher than they've ever been, and are in line with industry norms.
Companies can share confidential information during a merger, but cannot act on it, and the sharing is done with only a limited team from each company. So, they should have a roadmap ready, but they need to start aligning the employees with that roadmap. Being in an integration team and receiving confidential information from the other company in a cleanroom can be hazardous to your career if the merger doesn't happen, as you are tainted with confidential information you shouldn't have, and can't act on. This can result in having to find a new job in a different industry.
I only partially buy this. You'd think big companies' M&A departments have analysts whose job it is to estimate costs & synergies of various deals. They should be receiving confidential information, all the time, with the task of providing an answer to questions like how much market overlap the companies are projected to have and how much their respective burn-rates can be reduced, if the deal were to go ahead. This would enable execs to value the deal and make decisions, without themselves getting tainted.
If people really were so tainted by this information that their employer could no longer keep them, then who else could hire them? Either they'd have to go to a completely different industry, or another line of work, entirely. That doesn't sound very realistic. It would make more sense to bring in some management consultants, if that were the case.
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quiksilvr - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Now Mavell is free to make Ultron to power the AI.The Chill Blueberry - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
r/thanosdidnothingwrong is leaking on its big day..jordanclock - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Ultronn*iwod - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
I am more looking forward to Marvell vs BroadcomPeachNCream - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Typo/error in the second to last paragraph: "...and has implied on in-storage processing." The word "on" can probably be deleted.Solid state drives, even consumer models, seem to make use of relatively powerful processors, but Cavium was an expensive acquisition so Marvell needs to put that investment toward profitable work quickly.
iwod - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Typo/error - Syed Ali (co-founder and CEO of Marvell)he is from Cavium, not Marvell
Ryan Smith - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Thanks!HStewart - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
This is yet another bad sign of ARM based computers attempting to go into server market - last week it was Qualcomm's news about CEO and now this.ThunderX2 must be major bomb.
Reflex - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
I don't see ThunderX2 as a bomb of any sort. The market just hasn't really developed for ARM in the server space, despite not lack of effort from several vendors now. AMD is likely already well beyond the marketshare they had with their ARM server chips with EPYC despite only a few months of availability.rahvin - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Why must ARM bomb? Please be serious, a competent server ARM chip would be good for everyone as it would probably result in significantly lower prices for everyone vis-a-via server chip prices.I personally hope ThunderX2 is a huge success and whomever Qualacomm sells their design too is equally successful. A 4 way competition in server chips would finally bring prices down from the stratosphere they currently occupy.
Reflex - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Define stratosphere. Servers cost a fraction of what they cost ten years ago. And if you are going into the cloud they cost such minuscule amounts as to be almost meaningless. It's amazing how far your dollar goes in the server space these days...mode_13h - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Prices have only been going down if your talking about $/core or $/core/MIPS.In absolute terms, Intel has been extorting its customers for about that long.
"The rule of thumb is that prices go up by a percentage that is roughly half the performance increase."
https://semiaccurate.com/2017/05/05/intels-new-sca...
Reflex - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Not sure why you wouldn't be measuring price by price/performance. Inflation makes the decrease even more dramatic. Not sure why you call it extortion either. I'm no Intel fan but seriously their margins aren't significantly higher than they've ever been, and are in line with industry norms.jhh - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Companies can share confidential information during a merger, but cannot act on it, and the sharing is done with only a limited team from each company. So, they should have a roadmap ready, but they need to start aligning the employees with that roadmap. Being in an integration team and receiving confidential information from the other company in a cleanroom can be hazardous to your career if the merger doesn't happen, as you are tainted with confidential information you shouldn't have, and can't act on. This can result in having to find a new job in a different industry.mode_13h - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
I only partially buy this. You'd think big companies' M&A departments have analysts whose job it is to estimate costs & synergies of various deals. They should be receiving confidential information, all the time, with the task of providing an answer to questions like how much market overlap the companies are projected to have and how much their respective burn-rates can be reduced, if the deal were to go ahead. This would enable execs to value the deal and make decisions, without themselves getting tainted.If people really were so tainted by this information that their employer could no longer keep them, then who else could hire them? Either they'd have to go to a completely different industry, or another line of work, entirely. That doesn't sound very realistic. It would make more sense to bring in some management consultants, if that were the case.