It seems to me that AMD doesn't really have to "catch up" to Intel on the CPU side of things, since they have recently done so well in the GPU department. AMD's CPU price point really pushes chips, since most Gamers wold rather shoot their $$$ load on Good Graphics cards as opposed to top of the line CPU's.
I feel that my proof is in the sockets... AMD has been using the same 940 pin socket for the last few generations on the home platforms, and only really stepping up the game in server layout. They are effectively surviving on affordability in their setups, and even though they push to improve, they really do not need to blow us away to succeed.
