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AMD buys graphic card company ATI
- Thread starter KenM
- Start date
Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
There some some discussion about this a month or two back.
I still don't think its a good thing for the consumer, or the industry in general. Now that AMDs looking at a year give or take of playing catch up with Intel, I can't see how its going to help them, either.
I still don't think its a good thing for the consumer, or the industry in general. Now that AMDs looking at a year give or take of playing catch up with Intel, I can't see how its going to help them, either.
trancejeremy
Adventurer
I dunno - this could be a good or bad thing.
If it reduces competition, obviously it will be a bad thing. But on the other hand, it might cause more competition.
Could also possibly be a good thing for gaming. As of now, a lot of laptops and desktops come with integrated graphics (especially laptops). But those are pretty much useless for gaming.
For instance, I am a big Sims fan. But that game has surprisingly large requirements, and it attracts people who don't otherwise game. A lot of them have trouble getting the game to even run, and if it does, it runs poorly.
So maybe this means AMD will start putting at least medium (or even low end) 3D cards in their chipsets? (Or maybe not). Which will force Intel to as well. Which then will increase the market size for PC gaming.
Also, if ATI stops devoting so much to video cards, I would imagine someone will emerge to compete. I mean, at the begining of the market, it was 3DFX - now they're gone and 2 other companies took it's market share. If ATI leaves a void, it will get filled.
If it reduces competition, obviously it will be a bad thing. But on the other hand, it might cause more competition.
Could also possibly be a good thing for gaming. As of now, a lot of laptops and desktops come with integrated graphics (especially laptops). But those are pretty much useless for gaming.
For instance, I am a big Sims fan. But that game has surprisingly large requirements, and it attracts people who don't otherwise game. A lot of them have trouble getting the game to even run, and if it does, it runs poorly.
So maybe this means AMD will start putting at least medium (or even low end) 3D cards in their chipsets? (Or maybe not). Which will force Intel to as well. Which then will increase the market size for PC gaming.
Also, if ATI stops devoting so much to video cards, I would imagine someone will emerge to compete. I mean, at the begining of the market, it was 3DFX - now they're gone and 2 other companies took it's market share. If ATI leaves a void, it will get filled.
Steel_Wind
Legend
CPUs and GPUs - these days, the distinction is becoming more artificial.
A logical acquistion.
A logical acquistion.
Jhamin
First Post
You also have to factor in how much more important video processors are about to get. Windows Vista (Which will come out eventually) requires a 128M graphics accel card for the user to get the full experience. This will drive the hardware requirements of just about everything manufactured after Vista arrives.
This means that laptops w/128 or 256 meg graphics sets will soon be standard rather than an upgrade and "shared memory" setups will be a thing of the past. From that perspective, owning one of the two big names in graphics chipsets can only be a good thing.
This means that laptops w/128 or 256 meg graphics sets will soon be standard rather than an upgrade and "shared memory" setups will be a thing of the past. From that perspective, owning one of the two big names in graphics chipsets can only be a good thing.
LightPhoenix
First Post
I'm thinking about it coming from the other direction, myself. AMD has quite a chipmaking set-up. If ATI can use that to drive down costs, that would be great. Not to mention I'm sure they can use some of AMD's know-how on chip design to ramp up the next gen video cards.
Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
The issue with laptops now is a function of space, heating, and power consumption. The high-end graphics cards now suck up as much power as the rest of the system, generate enough heat to require dedicated cooling systems, and are often wide enough to take two slots. Not laptop friendly at all.
ATI would have continued their back-and-forth with Nvidia till something came along to upset that balance, and given how hard it is to break into an established market like that, it could have been a long time.
What AMD wanted out of the deal was the ability to offer soup-to-nuts chipsets like Intel can do, to help them crack the OEM market for desktops. That's where the real money is, in the tens of millions of Dells and HPs and whatever, not the high-end enthusiast market.
It is entirely possible that AMD will swallow ATI and it will all be peaches and cream from Day 1. I can't think of any previous time in the IT industry where that has happened, but its possible.
The danger lies in there being technological, logistical and business issues that make ATI hard to digest. Consider that AMD has to focus on their core product right now, where they are seeing serious competition for the first time in a while. They have to do this at the same time they are making drastic price cuts in that same core product. They're going to be trying to produce a new product line at the same time the target OS for that product is going through a radical change with many new requirements. Simultaneously, they are going to have to integrate new manufacturing processes, re-organize the business, and still keep the stockholders happy.
I don't envy them. It's going to be real hard to pull off in the short term. It will be interesting to see what Intel and NVidia do to take advantage of the situation.
ATI would have continued their back-and-forth with Nvidia till something came along to upset that balance, and given how hard it is to break into an established market like that, it could have been a long time.
What AMD wanted out of the deal was the ability to offer soup-to-nuts chipsets like Intel can do, to help them crack the OEM market for desktops. That's where the real money is, in the tens of millions of Dells and HPs and whatever, not the high-end enthusiast market.
It is entirely possible that AMD will swallow ATI and it will all be peaches and cream from Day 1. I can't think of any previous time in the IT industry where that has happened, but its possible.
The danger lies in there being technological, logistical and business issues that make ATI hard to digest. Consider that AMD has to focus on their core product right now, where they are seeing serious competition for the first time in a while. They have to do this at the same time they are making drastic price cuts in that same core product. They're going to be trying to produce a new product line at the same time the target OS for that product is going through a radical change with many new requirements. Simultaneously, they are going to have to integrate new manufacturing processes, re-organize the business, and still keep the stockholders happy.
I don't envy them. It's going to be real hard to pull off in the short term. It will be interesting to see what Intel and NVidia do to take advantage of the situation.
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