ATI and AMD to merge in $5.4bn deal

[Wonk]

CPU and GPU manufacturers, together at last

Chip-makers AMD and ATI have ended weeks of speculation by announcing a $5.4bn merger which will see processor manufacturer AMD acquiring graphics specialist ATI by the end of the year.

The deal will create one of the largest semiconductor firms in the world, and the merged firm has stated that it will focus heavily on the mobile and consumer electronics markets - where ATI already has a significant foothold, thanks in part to its console graphics chip deals with Nintendo and Microsoft.

However, desktop and portable computer components are likely to remain the core business of the merged company - and both ATI's biggest rival NVIDIA and AMD's rival Intel are likely to be considering the impact of the merger very seriously indeed.

more...
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=18506



related


Intel pulls ATI chipset license

There is a lot of news surrounding ATI at the moment, especially with the AMD buy out confirmed earlier today.

Intel has pulled ATI's chipset license, meaning that there will be no more ATI (or rather, AMD) chipsets for Intel processors after the end of the year.

more...
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/07/24/intel_pulls_ati_chipset_license/

[liberal N proud]

1. Maybe ATI and AMD can blow the doors off Intel

[Wonk]

2. slashdot: It's official - AMD buys ATI

http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/07/24/1148238.shtml

[Strabo]

3. ouch

Wow...I see this as being very bad. AMD is going to be screwed for the next year or so due to Intel's new Core 2 processor beating the living hell out of the AMD 64. Bad move. Very, very bad move.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

4. Doesn't matter, some of us will NEVER buy Intel...

... not after they put out the chips with the spyware, err, I mean id numbers in them. Never trust intel again.

BTW.... this 8 year old AMD K6-2 350 mhz chip IBM is running fine, not much it can't handle as long as I don't go for things i dont care for, anyway, ie.... monster video games and XP.

[ThsMchneKilsFascists]

7. Unless something drastic happens, I'll never buy Intel

My AMD Athlon 64 4000+ hums along just fine with it's 2.4 ghz processor.
Intel's Pentium 4 needs a 3.0 ghz processor to even begin to keep up.
I imagine that the onboard graphics with AMD mobos will continue to improve and get cheaper.
ATI's graphics cards will only get better as well.

btw I also have an old Compaq with the k-2 350 processor and I agree for it's age and processing power, it's a remarkable little performer.

[high density]

11. I agree

Once the supply/demand curve hits Intel's new processor, I think price price/performance ratio isn't going to be quite the blowout in Intel's favor that everybody is predicting. AMD should be concerned once production ramps up, but the fact remains that Intel has a ton of crap inventory on hand that nobody wants to buy.

[BootinUp]

8. The Core 2 is not at full production yet

Intel will take the high end of the desktop market for now (over 500 dollar parts). AMD will still be competitive below that and has the 65nm die shrink to look forward to at the end of this year.

[Dirty Hippie]

5. I've used AMD processors and Asus Motherboards for years

in my home computers.

My home grown PCs have always out preformed my hunks of junk (DELLs) at work with comparable features.

[high density]

12. My first computer had an Asus motherboard

And many since have had Asus boards as well:

386dx2 40mhz - Asus
Pentium 100mhz - Asus
K6-2 300mhz - FIC (AT form factor) and DFI (ATX form factor)
Athlon 800mhz - Asus
Sempron 1.5ghz - Asus
Athlon XP 2.3ghz - Asus

I like their stuff, though I do wish they'd go back to building them in Taiwan instead of China.

[HannibalBarca]

6. Interesting

...Wonder what ATI's main rival, Nvidia, will make of this.

[bumponalog]

9. What will NVidia make of this?

My best guess is that they're already working furiously on a little sticker for their packaging that says "Intel Approved."

[BadgerKid]

10. nVidia response -LINK-

http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/10416

[Jazzgirl]

13. Maybe AMD can get ATI's video cards to be

more compatible with their boards.....

[ThsMchneKilsFascists]

14. No compatability problems for me with AMD boards and ATI Video

My newest AMD came w/ ATI's Radeon Express 200 onboard video.
It was 128 mb and worked great.
I've just recently upgraded to a 256 mb ATI Radeon X1900 card and didn't even have to disable onboard video to get the PC to recognize the new video card.
My old K6-2 has ATI onboard video and I've had a few driver issues but no compatability issues I'm aware of.

[Wonk]

15. AMD seen running a risk to topple Intel

Some analysts say AMD paid too much for ATI acquisition

SHAWN MCCARTHY
With files from Reuters

NEW YORK -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is gearing up for an expensive and risky run at the dominant player in the semiconductor industry, Intel Corp., by paying top dollar for Markham, Ont.-based ATI Technologies Inc.

In announcing the $5.4-billion (U.S.) deal yesterday, AMD chairman Hector Ruiz left no doubt that he considers the merger a strategic step in the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's long-running effort to topple Intel from its lofty perch as market leader.

(snip)

"There's probably the sound of champagne corks being let fly at Intel headquarters right now," said Brian Piccioni, an analyst at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. "Basically, AMD has bet the company on this transaction."

Analyst Cody Acree of Stifel Nicolaus & Co. said the AMD-ATI combination would provide benefits that would allow the company to better compete with Intel, but also exposes AMD to the same risks that have plagued the Santa Clara, Calif.-based market leader.

more...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060725.RATIAMD25/TPStory/Business

[mainegreen]

16. I think its a good bet.

[w4rma]

17. Bah, yet another merger. (nt)

[Sven77]

18. i always buy intel now

i have purchased a few amd sets in my time. the sis motherboard lasted awhile, 1 good via motherboard and 1 bad one. bad capacitors. i always buy ati for their excellent video capture cards. nvidia seems to do better at games and linux. the reason i pay more for intel is stability and longevity. just my experience. good deal for amd, they need a stable motherboard, wish they bought nvidia tho. i wonder if intel will buy creative labs or nvidia now.

[entanglement]

19. Very interesting

n/t