Maybe a bit of history might help here...
IBM, back when they were designing the IBM PC, were trying to find a manufacturer/supplier for a processor. They approached Intel, and got presented with the 8088: IBM turned it dow.
According to IBM policy, they are not allowed to purchase a product that comes from a single manufacturer, because it leaves the door wide open for price gouging, as IBM would become dependant on that part.
So Intel licensed the technology out, and a handful of companies came out with their own functional processors (isn't free enterprise great?). IBM bought in.
Today, out of all the people that were licensed, only one still exists: AMD.
Of course Intel doesn't have to license its technology anymore, because IBM isn't the only PC manufacturer. And that's why we've got the SSE2 issues, with the benchmarks.
AMD fought long and hard with Intel, just to be able to come out with their 486, but by the time the courts granted AMD the licensing right, it was too late. So AMD came out with their own processors.
In the ongoing licensing fight, Intel eventually no longer allowed AMD to use the same socket, and that's why we now have different mobos.
Microsoft however, likes AMD. They will support the whole line of AMD CPUs, no matter what AMD does with them.
Also, this year, AMD annouced a tech-for-mfg deal, where a chip plant in Japan will be producing AMD chips, and they'll get some technology in return. This is significant. AMD had a long history of supply problems, where if they were asked if they could deliver a huge quantities, to the likes of HP, their answer was: probably.
The thing is, "probably" doesn't cut it in the PC business. So AMD got itself a deal, and a huge production capacity.
Why didn't AMD just put up a new fab? Well, these things cost a huge amount of money, and to put it simply, although AMD could have done that, it would have been a serious financial strain. Intel on the other hand, owns many fab plants around the world.
The playing field is leveling off, bit by bit. AMD will get there, but it's going to be a long road, and Intel will fight them every step of the way.
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