AMD Considers Buying AGEIA

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According to this news item, AMD has tossed around the idea of buying AGEIA on a number of occasions. I thought this quote was rather telling:

In a bizarre twist of events, it looks as though Intel’s purchase of Havok could have actually put Havok’s competitor, Ageia, in a better position. As Huddy says, ‘if I was predicting [previously] I would say that they [Ageia] would probably grind themselves out of business in a year or so, but now they have an opportunity to sell themselves for a lot of money instead, I suspect.’
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Are they just looking to die that much faster? Or is this taken from the "Brantley Foster" guidebook (a nod to anyone that can actually tell me where that reference comes from without Googling it) where expansion in the face of near-death for a company causes growth that keeps it alive?

I gotta wonder...
 
They are losing money hand over fist and they want to buy into a niech market. BAD PLAN. Don't waste money on new tech, fix the crap you have now.
 
WTF? I thought this was a joke when I first read it. I liked you, AMD, but why is your management now retarded? What happened? This is seriously the dumbest thing I've ever heard of a troubled company doing. Your very existence is threatened, you're bleeding money; why gobble up another company in the same boat?

AMD makes two main products right now: CPUs and GPUs. The GPUs are semi-competitive, the CPUs are a flop. Why buy up a failing product that very, very, very few people have or even want?
 
If I had to guess about the reasons behind this idea, there looking at the future beyond bulldozer.

If you will remember comments made by AMD they envision a future with a high core
value CPU, that has several generic computing cores along with a number of specifically
tasked cores, that doesn't sound out of line with this idea. Say, for example, your new
XXXX cpu is comprised of 4 generic computing cores (x86-64), a graphics computing core
and a physics computing core.

In theory thats not a bad idea, something that oems would love. they could advertise it as a "quad core machine with ati graphics and ageia physics" in a single chip solution, I could see it being attractive in the OEM environment.


All that being said..
AMD, WTF are you thinking...no really ...WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ?!
 
I feel the urge to drive to Austin and hit someone in the kisser.
 
I did not realize it was April Fools. :D Is this Dirks idea ? Or more fiscal insanity from Wrector ?
 
No, AMD, don't do it. We all love and care about you very much. Suicide isn't the solution!

If only there were a 1-800 number for corporations contemplating suicide.
 
Like I said in another post, so many negative posts anymore when it comes to technology.

Think about it for a minute. What can physics processor do that video card cannot do? Thats right. You can embed them into a x86 processor.

What made AGEIA vaporware? The fact that noone wants to spend money on another PCIe card when they can buy another video card in SLi or Crossfire configuration.

What happens when AMD embeds physics processing into their processor? Why, the same thing that happened when AMD made their processors 64-bit compatible. We EVOLVE! Microsoft's making 64-bit operating system despite Intel's sneer and doubt. What happened? Intel makes 64-bit hybrids too when they found out AMD was right on!

AMD is trying to innovate, which you guys have been whining for for the past year. So they innovate and what happens? You call them retarded. They just can't win, can't they?

Maybe they have another trick up their sleeves and wants to try something crazy to draw our attention like they did with AMD64. You guys have to give them a chance.
 
Azhar said:
Like I said in another post, so many negative posts anymore when it comes to technology.

Think about it for a minute. What can physics processor do that video card cannot do? Thats right. You can embed them into a x86 processor.

What made AGEIA vaporware? The fact that noone wants to spend money on another PCIe card when they can buy another video card in SLi or Crossfire configuration.

What happens when AMD embeds physics processing into their processor? Why, the same thing that happened when AMD made their processors 64-bit compatible. We EVOLVE! Microsoft's making 64-bit operating system despite Intel's sneer and doubt. What happened? Intel makes 64-bit hybrids too when they found out AMD was right on!

AMD is trying to innovate, which you guys have been whining for for the past year. So they innovate and what happens? You call them retarded. They just can't win, can't they?

Maybe they have another trick up their sleeves and wants to try something crazy to draw our attention like they did with AMD64. You guys have to give them a chance.
Click to expand...

Puleeze. They can't even get their shit together with their core business, CPUs, and now they want to buy a PPU company with a product that is such a niche that only a small number of games support it. Like what, < dozen? They screwed up big time buying ATI and lost focus on what they should be working on... CPUs. Just another example of the mis-management of the company and the reason Hector is getting the boot.
 
digitalfreak said:
Puleeze. They can't even get their shit together with their core business, CPUs, and now they want to buy a PPU company with a product that is such a niche that only a small number of games support it. Like what, < dozen? They screwed up big time buying ATI and lost focus on what they should be working on... CPUs. Just another example of the mis-management of the company and the reason Hector is getting the boot.
Click to expand...

And how many software and operating systems were 64 bit before AMD transformed that section of the market? Almost zero aside from the server platform, wasn't it?

Who said AMD can't change the market? They did it before. They can do it again.
 
Azhar said:
And how many software and operating systems were 64 bit before AMD transformed that section of the market? Almost zero aside from the server platform, wasn't it?

Who said AMD can't change the market? They did it before. They can do it again.
Click to expand...



Your really,really,really reaching here. :D
 
Manny Calavera said:
Your really,really,really reaching here. :D
Click to expand...

They have to do SOMETHING. People are crying out for it. Yet when they do, they get scorned and shouted down. I might be too hopeful, but don't you think others are too unfairly negative?
 
Look on the bright side: it'll be less efficient than whatever Intel does w/Havok, but it'll cost less. :p
 
Oh great, AMD can buy AGEIA (with their nonexistent cash) so that yet another tech battle can can once again be reduced to blue versus green.
 
Actually this is quite smart, the chip is very effiicant, now put it on the CPU die and get rid of the PCI card and your in business, As for the buy I reccomend AMD spend no more than 10 Mexican Pesos.
 
Manny Calavera said:
One greatly overpriced and currently failing acquisition isnt good enough? :)
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I'm not sure if I'd call the acquisition failing per se. Under AMD's umbrella, ATI has released their first highly-desired graphics card in what seems like ages. Going from an overpriced, overheating, underperforming card to a well-positioned, cheap, and relatively powerful card within one generation is nothing to sneeze at. If they keep it up, they may well surpass NVIDIA next generation. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if ATI ends up pulling AMD's posterior out of the frying pad, given how dismally the CPU's match up against Intel's.

That said, AGEIA? AGEIA? While maybe in a few years people might think of physics processors again, the demand now doesn't seem all that great. And AMD needs positive cash flow now, not in a few years.
 
Frankly, if you look at what ATi/AMD have been doing for the past couple years, and what they've been working on for release in the next couple years, this fits in PERFECTLY with their future plants, part of the reason they bought ATi was because of ATi's Fuzion ideas and tech they were working on, which was also the way AMD wanted to go, this frankly is a perfect pick.


Look on the bright side, it will be a cheap compnay to buy (AGEIA) so AMD won't end up spending that much money, AND it will keep the guys and gals there employeed long enough to see their orginal dream of uber physics in games.
 
There are 2 reasons this rumor is floating about.

1. "Me too" factor. Intel bought Havok, and AMD wants the same.
2. Innovation. Just like the Fusion concept, the end result is to integrate more functionality into the CPU. Integrating the GPU completely into the CPU will have additional benefits that will increase a CPU's ability to process faster as well. Maybe the same holds true for the PPU? Isn't the PPU just a highly specialized FPU?

However, I believe this could be the dumbest thing AMD could do right now. The need to get out of debt quickly. I'm all for innovation, but I think AMD needs to wait atleast another year, if not 2 years before it purchases another company. If AMD believes it needs Ageia's tech and IP now so it can be competitive with Intel after the Bulldozer generation, I think AMD should have its own engineers come up with similiar tech in house rather than buying someone out. AMD simply can't afford another purchase right now.
 
It is about innovation. AMD could have just continued making only CPU's and we would have the same systems as we do now, only faster. AMD wants to revolutionize the way computers are made for OEMs, servers, and gamers. The problem is that there are few people talking who are engineers that work specifically on processors of some kind. No one here nor on wall street can truly say they know what can be crammed on a CPU and where it can go.

The fact that AMD has thought about buying Ageia shows that they are not hurting as bad as people think OR that they have some great stuff coming out. I applaud AMD for looking into ways to innovate processors. Like all great tech companies, it starts out on a whim and a little money to release something that completely takes the market by storm.

All I see Intel doing is adding cores and speed. They have been a big player for so long and it is all they know about and all they CARE to know about. This is a great plan...if AMD does not revolutionize the personal computer as we know it. For all we know, this kind of combination could bring servers to a whole new realm of function as well.

With great sacrifice comes great reward.
 
Aren't they overextended enough? In order to revolutionize personal computers,you have to come up with something revolutionary,and they haven't done that since Intel took back the lead. Buying ATI hasn't helped,Nvidia hasn't put out a new top end card for almost a year and is still in the lead. You can only get by on empty promises and hype for so long,sooner or later,loss of profits will catch up to them.
 
Hi.

AMD can't sell processors in a hot processor market. How the hell could they sell something that hasn't sold in the past?
 
This is one of the if the stupidest things DAMNIT could do right now. I'm all for inovation but they are BLEEDING CASH, they don't have any money to buy anybody out with. They had to recall a ton of the Phenom cpus due to some bug with the L3 cash that appears in the 2.4ghz+ cpus. They need to get their heads out of their asses and get the damn shit togather already. Then and only then can they return to the days of the Athon 64s.
 
Games with Ageia support said:
Auto Assault Net Devil
Bet on Soldier: Blackout Saigon Kylotonn Entertainment
Bet on Soldier: Blood of Sahara Kylotonn Entertainment
Bet on Soldier: Blood Sport (Patch) Kylotonn Entertainment
CellFactor: Revolution Artificial Studios, Immersion
City of Villains Cryptic Studios
Dark Physics The Game Creators
Infernal Metropolis Software
Stoked Rider: Alaska Alien Bongfish
Switchball Atomic Elbow
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter GRIN
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 PC GRIN
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Ubisoft Montreal
Unreal Tournament 3 (AGEIA Extreme Mods) Epic Games
Desert Diner Tarsier Studios
Fallen Earth Icarus Studios
Warmonger Operation: Downtown Destruction Net Devil
Click to expand...

So from that list of current and upcoming PC games that support AGEIA physics.. yes, it would be really f'in stupid to spend any money on AGEIA. Maybe if it was for free and they'd stick it into ATI cards and spend cash on developerhouses to get them to implement this into everything, maybe Valves Source Engine, then it could be worth a few mill.
 
CaptNumbNutz said:
There are 2 reasons this rumor is floating about.

1. "Me too" factor. Intel bought Havok, and AMD wants the same.
2. Innovation. Just like the Fusion concept, the end result is to integrate more functionality into the CPU. Integrating the GPU completely into the CPU will have additional benefits that will increase a CPU's ability to process faster as well. Maybe the same holds true for the PPU? Isn't the PPU just a highly specialized FPU?

However, I believe this could be the dumbest thing AMD could do right now. The need to get out of debt quickly. I'm all for innovation, but I think AMD needs to wait atleast another year, if not 2 years before it purchases another company. If AMD believes it needs Ageia's tech and IP now so it can be competitive with Intel after the Bulldozer generation, I think AMD should have its own engineers come up with similiar tech in house rather than buying someone out. AMD simply can't afford another purchase right now.
Click to expand...

To many PU's going on here! Excuse my dumbness but what is a FPU? Please enlight me.:confused:
 
If this is true, I don't understand the idea either. They need to make money, not spend it. Sure, investment is good, but this is not a core area for them and I'm not sure where they will be getting the money for this. Maybe it comes from here:

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/13620
 
I find it hard to see any sense in this.

There's a difference between wanting to revolutionize, and capable of doing so.

When they bought over ATi, it was a very bold move, and I thought they would eventually come up with something revolutionary, GPU into CPU or whatever. But look at where they are now, before they can even get to whatever they had planned, they are in financial troubles.

So, even if the can benefits from this move, the question here is can they actually afford to do it?

Furthermore, we don't know where physics processing is going. My guess is it'll only settle down once we have a common platform, a common API from Microsoft DirectPhysics, then developers will start adopting it.

So unless AMD knows something we don't, it doesn't seems like a good move. And even if they does, there's still this question of can they actually afford it.
 
The better solution for AMD would be to form a partnership with AGIEA and intergrate some of there tech into thier MB/CPU/GPU's rather than outright buying them. It would add value to both of their products and i don't see why a purchase would be needed for that.
If AMD is really trying to take over the entusiast market I see them going this route. If all of AMD's next gen chipsets had a ppu intergrated into the southbridge or something they would get a purchase from me. Ageia would be able to solve some of their chicken/egg problems with a much larger installed base. At the very lest it would be another checkbox that the oems like so much.
 
I don't think the idea of having an integrated PPU would be a bad idea. However, as a lot of people have pointed out, now may not be the best time. I believe that is what most people are concerned about. It's a great idea, but with what money? Mid-range cards that kick ass isn't going to pay for an entire company buyout. Phenom flopped, rolled over, and died before it even launched, unless AMD can pull a rabbit out of its ass and make a 3 gig beast that makes Penryn look like a joke. The only people who would benefit from Phenom, from what I gathered on the thread for the article here at [H], would be people who are already on an AM2 platform.

But I could be wrong. Here's to hoping AMD has an ace up its sleeve it hasn't pulled out yet.
 
What many people have to realize is that Amd and Ati are seperate and have seperate engineers working but under one company name. Its not like they have people switching shifts from gpus to cpus lol. I think they aren't going to get any worse than it is now. Whenever amd released a cpu it was always kinda lackluster but after some time we got some good cpus out of it like the athlon xp and many others. Amd would have the possibility of adding a ppu on a chipset like others have said. That would be next to nothing if they bought them out practically. I think they have a chance to get them to. Intel took havoc so you know its only a matter of time before ageia goes down. They will most likely sell for cheap. To me if they got the cash why not ;). It could rake in tons of profit if done right :)
 
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