Advanced Micro Devices lowered its sales forecast for the second quarter on Thursday due to slower-than-expected sales of certain laptop and desktop PC microprocessors.The world’s second-largest microprocessor maker, which squares off with Intel, lowered its second-quarter sales forecast to US$1.22 billion, about 9 percent lower than its original target. AMD’s prior guidance called for sales to be flat to slightly down from the first quarter of 2006 due to the normal slowdown in the PC market during the second quarter.The sales revision wasn’t completely unexpected. There have been a number of signs that PC sales have fallen off ahead of anticipated price reductions by Intel. The price of dynamic RAM chips, for example, fell in June. Component vendors and analysts in Taiwan widely expect Intel to slash processor prices in July, the start of what many expect to be a price war with AMD. The microprocessor is one of the most expensive parts inside a PC, so price reductions could have a big impact on the price of an overall system.Taiwanese companies often know inside information about the PC industry, such as about upcoming chip launches or price reductions, because they make many vital components for PCs and need to know about upcoming technical or business changes in order to prepare new products. In one bright spot of news for AMD, the company said it posted record high sales of Opteron processors in the second quarter, thanks to strong demand for the chips in servers and workstations. The announcement is particularly noteworthy because it comes shortly after Dell announced it would start using Opteron processors in its high-end, multiprocessor servers by the end of the year.In May, Dell surprised the PC market by announcing the move, breaking from its Intel-only modus operandi for the first time ever. AMD’s second quarter ended July 2, and the company will formally report its earnings results on Thursday, July 20.-Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service (Taipei Bureau)Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature 6 generative AI hazards IT leaders should avoid The opportunities to use generative AI will greatly vary for each organization, but the ways it can go wrong are turning out to be fairly universal. By Mary Branscombe Dec 06, 2023 11 mins CIO Application Performance Management Generative AI interview Delivering value through IT at Village Roadshow During a recent CIO Leadership Live session, Michael Fagan, chief transformation officer of Australian cinema and theme park company Village Roadshow, spoke with CIO’s editor in chief for APAC Cathy O'Sullivan about delivering value, colla By CIO staff Dec 06, 2023 8 mins CIO CIO Leadership Live Change Management feature DS Smith sets a single-cloud agenda for sustainability The British packaging manufacturer has launched an AWS-centric digital transformation aimed at better leveraging data for more productive business outcomes — including reduced impact on the environment. By Paula Rooney Dec 06, 2023 7 mins Amazon Web Services Digital Transformation Cloud Computing news UAE businesses have AI regulation as a top priority By Andrea Benito Dec 06, 2023 3 mins Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe