AMD seems to have one big "upper hand" in processor making:
Eventually, there will be a limit to processor clock speeds.
Eventually, the clocks will meet the speed electrons travel, and clock speeds will cease to raise.
- That is, unless we can come up with a way to use fibre optics (etc) in our processors and buses. (Which the only limit then would be, well, the speed of light) (!)
I beleive this is where AMD has a big advantage - they have found out how to keep their clock speeds low but still get that better performance out of the processor. So when we do hit the proverbial "Clock limit wall", we will have to make the architecture better,
CAR ANALOGIES!
- the Lotus Elise only has ~144 horsepower, yet it's 0-60 is about 4 seconds. Much better than any stock muscle car that has twice the horsepower. It has to do with how the car is built, and the way it gets the power to the ground - much more efficently.
In cars, the way they do it is better tires (kinda like a wider bus) and reducing weight (like a shorter bus).
When you look at the clock speed only, its like looking at the horsepower only, and not the rest of the car.
Semi-Trucks have over 550-600 horsepower, and gobs of torque, but as everyone knows theyre quite slow.
Hope this helps.