AMD Gears Up for Future Intel Wars

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- After appearing to have fallen behind in the microprocessor arms race, Advanced Micro Devices(AMD Quote) finally offered a glimpse of its next generation of chips.

The company detailed a pair of new microprocessor cores under development that will position the company to address a broader swath of the electronics market and, AMD hopes, will give it an edge against arch-rival Intel(INTC Quote).

The two chips, code-named Bulldozer and Bobcat, are still a couple of years away from commercial availability. But they represent the most-concrete evidence to date of how AMD intends to leverage its $5.4 billion acquisition of graphics chipmaker ATI to battle Intel going forward.

AMD also said its upcoming quad-core processor, dubbed Barcelona, will put the company back on an even playing field and help stabilize the falling prices that have eroded profit margins of late.

"Despite the very competitive environment, we continue to make progress," AMD Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Henri Richard told a crowd of analysts and journalists at the company's annual technology analyst day here.

"The fundamental components of us continuing to gain share are in place," Henri said.

Market share gains may be the least of AMD's worries, given its current state of affairs.

AMD has been battered by a combination of stale products, a fierce price war and dwindling cash flow. The company has lost more than $600 million in each of the past two quarters and has more than $5 billion of debt on its balance sheet.