AMD's latest processors see the company return to form and able to really start competing with Intel again. In a clear sign AMD knows how good its chips are, the company is making a rather bold offer to anyone who recently won one of Intel's celebration 8086K processors.
Intel is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary as well as the 40th anniversary of the x86 platform. As part of that, a new 5GHz Core i7-8086K was launched on June 8. Intel decided to give away 8,086 of the chips in a sweepstakes to help promote both the chip and the anniversaries. Now AMD is offering to replace 40 of them for what it sees as a better chip.
It's called the Threadripper Exchange and is open to anyone who won a chip as part of Intel's Core i7-8086k Limited Edition Sweepstakes. The first 40 US-based winners who apply and prove ownership will be able to exchange their 8086K for a 16-core AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X for free.
On the exchange page AMD states, "Our competitor recently kicked off a sweepstakes to celebrate the first 40 years of the x86 processor by giving away 8,086 limited edition processors. We appreciate the advancements they've helped drive with the x86 architecture over the last four decades. But, we're ready to take it from here."
To claim a free 1950X, simply send your Intel prize notification to TR.Exchange@amd.com. AMD will then verify your eligibility and ask you to send your "unopened, in-box prize" to them. Once received, a 1950X will be sent out as a replacement.
It's a clever marketing ploy, but one that's surely not going to go down too well at Intel. However, strong competition only benefits us, the consumers, so long may this continue. I look forward to seeing how Intel responds.