AMD & ATI: The Acquisition from all Points of View
by Anand Lal Shimpi on August 1, 2006 10:26 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Intel’s Position: The Silent Treatment
Of all the manufacturers we talked to, Intel was the least forthcoming with information. At the same time, Intel was the least impacted by the AMD/ATI announcement. Intel already has a thriving chipset and motherboard business, not to mention that Intel is currently the largest supplier of graphics for PCs. Intel is, at least publicly, taking the "we'll have to wait and see" stance to the acquisition, stating numerous times that the deal is not final and that anything could happen between now and then.
Intel also stated that nothing has changed yet and for one, ATI's bus license has definitely not been revoked. Intel also made it clear to state that its relationship with AMD/ATI/NVIDIA could change before the deal goes through, just not immediately. Believe it or not, that's all we got out of Intel.
Understanding the corporate mindset and recognizing that Intel is the 800 pound gorilla in this discussion, its perspective isn't all too surprising. Intel has the fastest current desktop CPU and sells a ton of chipsets, GPUs (if you count the integrated stuff as a GPU), CPUs, and motherboards. In many ways, this merger is a lot about AMD trying to compete with Intel. Despite the lack of outgoing information, you can be sure that the impact of this merger is being discussed in great detail within Intel, and as always it is going to try to plan out its best future course. Intel’s "no comment" stance is what one would expect from a huge corporation when asked about the activities of its chief competitor.
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johnsonx - Thursday, August 3, 2006 - link
Yep, you two are both old. Older than me. Heath H8? I didn't think selling candy bars would pay for college. You actually had to build candy bars from a kit back then? Wow. ;)Mostly the 'kids' comment was directed at your esteemed CEO, and maybe Kubicki too (who I'm well aware is with Dailytech now), and was of course 99.9% joke. Anand may be young, but he's already accomplished a lot more than many of us ever will.
Gary Key - Thursday, August 3, 2006 - link
where is the edit button... led toPrinceGaz - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Well according to ATI's investors relations webby and also Wikipedia, they were founded in 1985 and started by making integrated-graphics chips for the like of IBM's PCs, and by 1987 had started making discrete graphics-cards (the EGA Wonder and VGA Wonder).Yes, they quite obviously do predate the 3D revolution by many years. VGA graphics date from 1987 and no doubt the VGA Wonder was one of the first cards supporting it. I imagaine that EGA Wonder card they also made in 1987 would have had the 9-pin monitor connection you mention as that is the EGA standard (I've never used it but that's what the Wiki says).
All useless information today really, but a bit history is worth knowing.
johnsonx - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Yep, I stuck quite a few EGA and VGA wonder cards in 386's and 486's back then. They were great cards because they could work with any monitor. Another minor historical point: Monochrome VGA was common in those days too - better graphics ability than old Hercules Mono, but hundreds of $ less than an actual color monitor.yacoub - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Your comment should get rated up b/c you correctly state that ATI has been around for some time. Let us also not forget that NVidia bought 3dfx, 3dfx did not simply disappear. And Matrox, while mostly focused in the graphic design / CAD market with their products, has also survived their forays into the gaming market with products like the G200 and G400. Perhaps something about basing your graphics card company in Canada is the trick? :)johnsonx - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Well, 3dfx was dead. NVidia was just picking at the carcass. Matrox survives only because they make niche products for professional applications. Their 3D products (G200/G400/G450, Parhelia) were hotly anticipated at the time, but quickly fell flat (late to market, surpassed by the competition by the time they arrived, or very shortly after).mattsaccount - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
>>NVIDIA also understands that dining with Intel is much like dining with the devil: the food may be great but you never know what else is cooking in the kitchen.The food in Intel's cafeteria is actually quite good :)
stevty2889 - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Not when you work nights..it really sucks then..dev0lution - Thursday, August 3, 2006 - link
But the menu changes so often you don't get bored ;)NMDante - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Night folks get shafter with cafe times.That's probably why there's so many 24 hr. fast food offerings around RR site. LOL