AMD + ATI: What could it mean for us?

Rob Williams · 07-22-2006, 03:40 PM

If there was ever a merger to pay attention to, it should be this one. If the acquisition goes through, what does that mean for consumers and the PC hardware industry in general? Will things get better, or turn out for the worse?

After reading the article, feel free to flame me here.

07-23-2006, 01:11 PM

don't AMD and Intel share tech? so why should intel worry
Nvidia should be worry there be no need for them/ or be left out if intel can get hands on ATI thx to AMD.

Rob Williams · 07-23-2006, 01:13 PM

Intel and AMD share tech? I don't know what you mean... I haven't heard of such a thing before. They are the top two leading -competing- CPU companies... what would they share?

madmat · 07-23-2006, 01:54 PM

Yes, they do have a long standing agreement to share technologies. This is why AMD procs have MMX/SSE/SSE2 and SSE3. This is also why the Intel CPU's are using AMD's X64 technology.

This goes (again) back to the days of when AMD was making chipsets for Intel and also a distributer of Intel CPUs. Good times, good times.

Rob Williams · 07-23-2006, 02:02 PM

Ahh yes, -those- techs. Well, I don't think those really matter. If AMD gains a lot more of the market due to whatever happens, it's going to hurt Intel regardless of what tech they share.

The sketchiest thing right now is whats going to happen with NVIDIA right off the bat. They have so many side projects going anyway... I doubt they have anything to really worry about.

madmat · 07-23-2006, 02:41 PM

If (and a very big if here) ATI does by some miracle get bought up by AMD AMD won't lose anything as far as nVidia is concerned. AMD makes up nV's biggest market share as far as chipset sales goes and since the only way you can run SLI is by nVidia only supporting the nV chipsets they'd stand to lose way too much income by snubbing AMD.

Honestly with the capital expenditures AMD has been making lately I doubt that their investors will welcome any bids to buy another company at the present time.

T-Shirt · 07-23-2006, 06:37 PM

i think this is terrible news.
1}AMD burns most /all of their cash on secondry business that has a low margin,= maybe leaving them unable to fully fund the R&D and Mfg.ing of products for either.
2} intel must either pay AMD for GPU and Chipsets, or go with Nvidia or intel only GPU's=less market choices.

I am a little suprized that Intel didn't jump in and out bid AMD
they have plenty of cash, and would love to get money from AMD for chipsets, not that they(intel) really need another chipset or GPU division, but it would block/limit AMD

12-11-2006, 04:09 AM

AMD clearly does not have the desire to provide the level of support ATI used to, just by viewing its web site. Everything is geared toward steering the customer away from getting near a human being, obviously to cut costs, and AMD support has never been stellar anyway.

It's too bad because I found ATI support pretty good in the past and their web site among the better vendor sites. Time to switch back to Intel and Nvidia I guess and pay the price.

07-22-2006, 03:40 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor in Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 8,921	AMD + ATI: What could it mean for us? If there was ever a merger to pay attention to, it should be this one. If the acquisition goes through, what does that mean for consumers and the PC hardware industry in general? Will things get better, or turn out for the worse? After reading the article, feel free to flame me here. __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 3.20GHz, ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, OCZ 8GB PC2-6400, EVGA GTX 285 1024MB Seagate 500GB, 750GB & 1TB, Pioneer 22x ODD, Corsair 1000HX, Thermalright Ultra-120, CM Storm Sniper Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Ultrasone PRO 750, Gentoo Linux (KDE 4.3.2, 2.6.31 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter Profiles: Last.fm \| Xbox Live \| Steam

07-23-2006, 01:13 PM	#3
Rob Williams Editor in Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 8,921	Intel and AMD share tech? I don't know what you mean... I haven't heard of such a thing before. They are the top two leading -competing- CPU companies... what would they share? __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 3.20GHz, ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, OCZ 8GB PC2-6400, EVGA GTX 285 1024MB Seagate 500GB, 750GB & 1TB, Pioneer 22x ODD, Corsair 1000HX, Thermalright Ultra-120, CM Storm Sniper Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Ultrasone PRO 750, Gentoo Linux (KDE 4.3.2, 2.6.31 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter Profiles: Last.fm \| Xbox Live \| Steam

07-23-2006, 01:54 PM	#4
madmat Former Editor Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kennesaw GA Posts: 1,639	Yes, they do have a long standing agreement to share technologies. This is why AMD procs have MMX/SSE/SSE2 and SSE3. This is also why the Intel CPU's are using AMD's X64 technology. This goes (again) back to the days of when AMD was making chipsets for Intel and also a distributer of Intel CPUs. Good times, good times. __________________ M2N32-SLI Deluxe, Brisbane X-2 4000+ @ 2986Mhz 2x1 gig OCZ PC26400 Platinum EVGA 7950GT SLI Buncha drives, Some other stuff, Even more stuff, If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside. --Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld magazine Sign Me!

07-23-2006, 02:02 PM	#5
Rob Williams Editor in Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 8,921	Ahh yes, -those- techs. Well, I don't think those really matter. If AMD gains a lot more of the market due to whatever happens, it's going to hurt Intel regardless of what tech they share. The sketchiest thing right now is whats going to happen with NVIDIA right off the bat. They have so many side projects going anyway... I doubt they have anything to really worry about. __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 3.20GHz, ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, OCZ 8GB PC2-6400, EVGA GTX 285 1024MB Seagate 500GB, 750GB & 1TB, Pioneer 22x ODD, Corsair 1000HX, Thermalright Ultra-120, CM Storm Sniper Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Ultrasone PRO 750, Gentoo Linux (KDE 4.3.2, 2.6.31 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter Profiles: Last.fm \| Xbox Live \| Steam

07-23-2006, 02:41 PM	#6
madmat Former Editor Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kennesaw GA Posts: 1,639	If (and a very big if here) ATI does by some miracle get bought up by AMD AMD won't lose anything as far as nVidia is concerned. AMD makes up nV's biggest market share as far as chipset sales goes and since the only way you can run SLI is by nVidia only supporting the nV chipsets they'd stand to lose way too much income by snubbing AMD. Honestly with the capital expenditures AMD has been making lately I doubt that their investors will welcome any bids to buy another company at the present time. __________________ M2N32-SLI Deluxe, Brisbane X-2 4000+ @ 2986Mhz 2x1 gig OCZ PC26400 Platinum EVGA 7950GT SLI Buncha drives, Some other stuff, Even more stuff, If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside. --Robert X. Cringely, InfoWorld magazine Sign Me!

07-23-2006, 01:11 PM	#2
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	don't AMD and Intel share tech? so why should intel worry Nvidia should be worry there be no need for them/ or be left out if intel can get hands on ATI thx to AMD.

07-23-2006, 06:37 PM	#7
T-Shirt E.M.I. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 95	i think this is terrible news. 1}AMD burns most /all of their cash on secondry business that has a low margin,= maybe leaving them unable to fully fund the R&D and Mfg.ing of products for either. 2} intel must either pay AMD for GPU and Chipsets, or go with Nvidia or intel only GPU's=less market choices. I am a little suprized that Intel didn't jump in and out bid AMD they have plenty of cash, and would love to get money from AMD for chipsets, not that they(intel) really need another chipset or GPU division, but it would block/limit AMD

12-11-2006, 04:09 AM	#8
Unregistered Guest Poster Posts: n/a	What it means is poor service for both product lines AMD clearly does not have the desire to provide the level of support ATI used to, just by viewing its web site. Everything is geared toward steering the customer away from getting near a human being, obviously to cut costs, and AMD support has never been stellar anyway. It's too bad because I found ATI support pretty good in the past and their web site among the better vendor sites. Time to switch back to Intel and Nvidia I guess and pay the price.