Only a few hours remain before the official launch of the Athlon 64. A few hours more and the Web will light up with benchmarks - at least in enthusiast circles.

A week ago, this looked like an AMD parade, fireworks display and gala banquet rolled into one. Then, in burst of schadenfreud, Intel dropped a bunch of P4 EEs on the world's tech press at IDF, and sent them all off with CPUs, in time for today's launch.

Maybe it is the pent-up need for the "Next Big Thing," and maybe it is demand for the next leap in performance, but very few commentators, observers, enthusiasts, interested parties or geeks seem willing to question the obvious amidst all the brouhaha.

Do we really believe that the 64-bit revolution is upon us?

Do we really think that we'd like to fork out half a grand, or more, on a desktop processor?

Just build the next-best thing and the buyers will come running? Surely, the last couple of years should have taught the computer industry that there's more to it than that.

Unfortunately, there isn't much room for depth right now. It's a bit of a watershed event in the CPU business, and the pressure is on AMD to succeed. Not just succeed, but to turn Internet chatter and enthusiasm into bottom line dollars.

Intel: Losing The PR Battle

However, it the middle of all this, I have to point out the failure of Intel to provide any significant opposition to AMD. I mean, it's not like what AMD has been doing has been much of a secret. Maybe the overwhelming public nature of AMD's behind-the-scenes maneuvers to get the press ready for the Athlon 64 launch helped Intel plan for, create and execute the Pentium 4 EE.

The P4 EE was a very clever move, a sign that Intel could do guerilla marketing, if it had to. That's a big deal: Intel is getting down and dirty. In the last week, Intel has successfully managed to move the spotlight away from the Athlon 64 and to get people speculating about the P4 EE.

Yet, for all the cleverness, Intel showed itself to be cynical and full of hubris, too. The P4 EE was kind of thrown into the arena, an act of contempt against AMD. There wasn't much in the way of argument or positioning. A simple chip for gamers, designed to do just enough to wipe out any performance advantage AMD might have expected in the 32-bit arena. A manufacturing sleight of hand around the Xeon. Damning with slight admiration is the phrase that best describes the reaction of some of the enthusiast press.

Intel should have been more aggressive. It should have been more forceful in making its case for the P4 EE and the arguments against AMD's 64-bit positioning. If they wanted the enthusiasts to respect them, they should have earned the respect. Maybe Intel didn't care as long as it got the ink. Cynical and full of hubris.

I also have to bemoan the lack of a clear voice coming out of Intel. There used to be an Andy Grove, but Intel's identity right now is wrapped up in a number of executives, none of whom really stand out.

Maybe that is a problem: a single voice and a clear vision might have positioned the P4 EE better, and might have give the doubters some stronger words of encouragement. How difficult would it have been for Intel to stake out a roadmap for 64-bit computing instead of dismissing the one AMD offered?

There was a time when Intel would have mercilessly pounced on all of AMD's weaknesses. Now, it's more like waving a dismissive hand at a pesky fly. Maybe not such a good idea.