Google appears poised to kick a little dirt in Intel's eyes by going with Opteron processors from Sunnyvale-based AMD. Google already has more than 200,000 servers in operation to handle its massive online search database. "Most of Google's near-term server purchases will use AMD's Opteron for the first time. [Google] will help AMD to enjoy a significant sequential increase in their server business in the first quarter," said Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Edelstone.
AMD is kicking into high gear as it grabs more marketshare from Intel. The company had an overall marketshare of 21.4% in the fourth quarter of 2005 -- that was up from 17.4% in the third quarter.
