[nolok]

They could handle it and beat them at several key points (1 ghz barrier, first to ship x86-64, first to integrate memory controller, not to mention eating the p4 for lunch performance wise), but Intel cheated and our justice department let them. The US refused to do anything, and the EU went at it a decade after the facts.

I agree with your conclusion that fighting head on right now would not be smart when they have nvidia on one side and arm on the other. But not with your assertion that "AMD failed to defeat Intel products in the market" the last time.

[marcosdumay]

How they failed is of little relevance, since there is no reason to believe this time things would be different. (In fact, I would expect the US gov to be more corrupt now, not less.)

[nolok]

Yes it is of relevance, since the EU made it clear if Intel tried it again not only would they act much much more swiftly, but they would also be very tough.