Biggest rivalry factors between Intel and AMD

Antitrust actions can have a dramatic effect when a decision breaks a company into pieces, but the biggest factors in the rivalry between Intel and AMD--and increasingly Nvidia, too--is technology. So while AMD can be pleased with the European Commission's conclusion, it's got bigger worries.

AMD has been tirelessly agitating for antitrust actions against its larger rival, and it's made some headway. Japan and South Korea have come down against Intel, and the Federal Trade Commission in the United States is involved in its own Intel investigation--not its first. AMD also has its own private antitrust suit under way in Delaware.

But when it comes to taking on Intel, a far bigger factor has been technology - not just processor designs, but also manufacturing skill and capacity that means chips can be priced competitively while still being profitable.