AMD: Intel cripples programs on our chips

by Manek Dubash

July 13, 2005 —

Intel's compilers recognize when they're running on an AMD processor, and generate code that either degrades performance or causes it to crash. That's one of the many accusations in AMD's lengthy document of complaints against Intel in its recent lawsuit against the chip giant.

The paragraph in question, number 123, reads:

"Intel has designed its compiler purposely to degrade performance when a program is run on an AMD platform. To achieve this, Intel designed the compiler to compile code along several alternate code paths. Some paths are executed when the program runs on an Intel platform and others are executed when the program is operated on a computer with an AMD microprocessor. (The choice of code path is determined when the program is started, using a feature known as

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