“AMD yesterday announced that they plan to acquire Canadian video chip maker ATI for US$5.4 billion. The deal needs to be approved by stockholders and regulatory agencies. Arch-rival Intel announced that they won’t be renewing ATI’s chipset bus license as a result of the deal,” Jason D. O’Grady blogs for ZDNet.
“The move leaves Apple in a bit of a quandary because ATI video subsystems currently power two of Apple’s Intel-based Macs: the MacBook Pro and the iMac both ship with ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 GPUs. The Mac mini and MacBook use Intel GMA950 graphics,” O’Grady writes.
“I think that we’ll probably see Intel gently ‘suggest’ that Apple switch to another vendor for graphics technology in 2007. Once the dust settles I bet that all Macs from here on out will ship with graphics from either Intel or NVIDIA,” O’Grady writes.
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews article:
AMD to buy graphics chip maker ATI for $5.4 billion – July 24, 2006
“I think that we’ll probably see Intel gently ‘suggest’ that Apple switch to another vendor for graphics technology in 2007.”
Why?
I think not.
and IBM is the technology vendor for nvidia. funny how things keep coming around.
Yawn.
Apple often switches between ati and nvidia. Standard slot. Standard card.
All you need are drivers.
This isn’t a big deal either way.
Intel won’t tell Apply what graphics chipset to use (they already use intel in the MacMini). AMD, however, may convert ATI chipsets to be compatible with AMD processors/MBs. Who knows, why speculate, we will know soon enough. It does benefit Nvidia in my opinion. A lot of ATI customers have to protect themselves by at least preparing to use Nvidia if they don’t already.
It seems the person who wrote the ZDNet article may have confused the lack of a “chipset” license to mean that ATI can no longer make graphics cards for machines with Intel processors. This, of course, is ridonkulous.
I keep re-reading to see if I’m misunderstanding, but I think the author is just very confused as to what “chipset” means in this case.
The other question is will ATI continue to develop and market 3rd party graphics cards for the Mac platform.
Apple is going to forgo the whole graphics card in the new Mac Pro’s in favor of more cores.
Much like how the Cell processor operates, the new Mac Pro’s will have up to eight cores, which a couple is needed for asymmetrical multi-processing of the 3D game engine and sound, plus 6 cores for symmetrical multi-processing of the 3D video.
Sony’s plan is to put all their cores on one die, which unfortunatly lowers the yield (and is). Intel’s plan is to place all the cores close enough on one chip, therefore retaining the ability to reject defective cores.
When it comes to the rest of Apple’s product line, they will slowly all switched to Intel’s graphics. Why? HDCP, the Hollywood endorsed content protection scheme for HD video.
No graphics card = no loophole to snag the content.
DRM Apple monitors to come as well.
Something for you to think about as well.
Rememeber the “hack my webpage” sported by Dave Schroeder?
Well it turns out HE WAS HACKED. And the coverup was the “I wasn’t authorized” story. See this:
….the local ‘passwd’ exploit (a zero day based exploit) reported on 03.02.06, which was used to hack the system of Dave Schroeder during the “rm-my-mac” competition.
http://www.net-security.org/article.php?id=933
If Apple swithces to Nvidia due to pressure from Intel alone, then I’d be mighty disappointed in Apple. Whether they use ATI or Nvidia isn’t important, but they should always choose whichever is best at the moment. and have, in the past, switchde back and forth.
And I agree with Spark. AMD could offer huge incentives for Apple to use both ATI GPUs and AMD CPUs (largely as an advantage of having greater volume). Unfortunately AMD has nothing to rival the Core2 line. Nothing.
A potential price war? Good stuff.
Are we seeing the forming of alliances before the Great Digital Price and Technology War of 2007?
Want to know a secret?
Open all in User/Library/Caches/com.apple.idvd/Thumbnails
Search for GL Image Browser to see every picture on your hard drive.
Static Mesh, I indtroduce you to “Meat and Potatos”.
Multicores used as graphic cards? WTF are you smoking?
Meat and Potatos – Interesting reading. They also have an article on essential Mac OS security software too. Good article overall.
O/T – CUBERT : If you are out there, check out these links of Genki Sudo (one of my top 5 MMA fighters.) This guy has AMAZING submission skills (most of his wins are by submission), and a unique style to say the least (he’s fast as hell when it comes to ground work). The clips of his fights in Japan show more “pre-fight flash” (show), but they like to hype it up there. Still real fighting though. Check ’em out
Genki Sudo:
———–
– Pure Submissions (Note <u>flying</u> triangle chokes and <u>flying</u> ARM BARS!):
– Highlights 1:
– Highlights 2:
DreamTheEndless: Sure, it probably won’t affect the forthcoming desktop Mac Pro, but that’ll be the only platform without worries. The MacBook Pro and Intel iMacs have their video chipset integrated onto the motherboard. They are not simple plug-in expansion/daughtercard affairs. If Apple changes suppliers the main logic boards have to be re-engineered, probably from scratch, because the GPUs and their supporting sub-components (and accompanying power and cooling requirements) are soldered into place and are not user-upgradable.
Meat and Potatoes – Interesting reading. They also have an article on essential Mac OS security software too. Good article overall.
Mouse over the Apple logo on that page to see essential security software for the Mac.
Less than 1% of computers on the internet not spamming. Unfscking believable.
http://news.com.com/2100-7349_3-6098447.html?part=rss&tag=6098447&subj=news
Meat and Potatoes:
I agree, the tech world has only begun to exploit the potential of multi-core processors. In 3 years I suspect the usefulness of multi-cores will exceed what most people can only remotely imagine today.
All Intel or NVIDIA has to do is come up with a GPU/chip set that is better and cheeper. Done deal. Apple will start designing them in their next generation boards.
FUD.
Meat and Potatos has it essentially right. The days of the separate GPU are ending. Multi core is blowing them away. Intel will not buy Nvidia. Why buy a ride on the Titanic?
You can bet that Intel will produce some multi core CPUs with some Altivec like cores. Whether or not they will be Apple proprietary or not, I don’t know. But these Chips will smoke any architecture using separate GPUs because of the former’s lower latency and the latter’s always being behind by a generation on semiconductor processing technology. Multi core is the future for graphics as well as more general aspects of computing.
A dedicated GPU architecture always will be faster than a general purpose one: Sony has a dedicated GPU unit in PS3, actually. Another thing entirely is the possibility of adding GPUs to an Opteron multiprocessor notherboard’s unoccupied sockets, perhaps with their own memory controllers, which would be interesting.
Just when you thought AMD was out for the count; UPPERCUTT!!
but as far as Apple, they are going to have crossfire solutions in their Mac Pro line, so at least for the short term, its ATI time.
secret agent man,
what’s the point of opening User/Library/Caches/com.apple.idvd/Thumbnails ?
Thanks “c”. I’m at work on my crappy PC that blocks access to YouTube so I’ll have to wait until I get home. Also, how do you make a copyright symbol on a Winblows PC? God I miss the special character palatte.
Cube: “Also, how do you make a copyright symbol on a Winblows PC? God I miss the special character palatte.”
I know it was a rhetorical question, but:
Windows: ALT 0169 = ©
OS X = Option G
Hope you like the clips……
I read an artical similar.
Intel Will allow ATI card to work on motherboard with their chipset that 3rd party companies make, but not on the ones INTEL make in their own factories.
APPLE get their motherboards FROM INTEL factories, not 3rd Party, hence ATI card’s are unlikely to be supported in future Macintoshes unless INTEL lifts the “ban” so to speak.
As for ATI vs. nVidia – nVidia are going to be put in the MacPro hands down from the start, for the PRO who needs the MAX power no matter what the cost, Crossfire just can’t keep up with QUAD-SLI.
Plus, ATI CrossFire uses 2 of the 4 DVI-D ports to connect the cards together, so then you can’t use 2 x 30″ APPLE Cinima Displays, now for pro’s, they just won’t have that.
Quad SLI, the potential to impliment 8 x DVI-D ports, right now on the PC they only have 4, but, all NVIDIA has to do is put the connectors on and bang, 8 DVI-D ports and up to 4 x 30″ APPLE Cinima Displays.
INTEL + NVIDIA + APPLE = Kick Ass!
Now I am not a “fan Boy” but the facts tell me and should tell you, all you need to know. NVIDIA will be first out the gate with DX 10, INTEL the first with Quad-Core, and APPLE the number 1 with style plus the OSX operating system.
I don’t have an INTEL CPU, nor have I had one Since my Athlon XP 1800+ a good while back, I do have a NVIDIA Graphics card, my 6800GT is possibly my best buy for my pc to date! I have used many ATI cards since I work in my uncles computer shop, and some are pretty good, the 9800XT/Pro was one of the best cards ATI ever made, so I am not a “fan boy” in that respsect either.
APPLE – I don’t even have a Mac, but I want one, and i plan on getting one after they upgrade to Core 2 Duo / Quad – Conroe, Menrom and Woodcrest (desktop, notebook and server/high end)
MacBookPro 13″/14″ – Core 2 Duo Menrom – 2.46Ghz/2.66Ghz – 2gb Ram – nVidia 7800Go/8800Go/8600Go (thats my wish for 2007)