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OMG: Microsoft May Buy NVIDIA

D

DjiXas

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May 26, 2011
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To avoid possible Apple acquisition (which was eyed for a long time), Microsoft has signed a deal with NVIDIA that could indicate a purchase of the graphics card giant.
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just last week i was thinking it would be a good idea to buy nvidia stock....
 
Anything to further push Intel integrated graphics out of most PC's would make me happy. IMO, that's the #1 thing hurting PC gaming right there.
 
That depends on whether or not you think competition is a good thing. As it's going right now, we're getting fewer and fewer companies( of importance, anyway) and just a few large ones controlling everything.
 
i really doubt Microsoft is going to do this, microsoft gains nothing from aquiring a video card designer.

most likely a rumor started to try and boost nvidia's stock price.
 
Hmm it would help Microsoft get more money and maybe they can make even better drivers then.
 
H-street said:
i really doubt Microsoft is going to do this, microsoft gains nothing from aquiring a video card designer.

most likely a rumor started to try and boost nvidia's stock price.
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nVidia have expanded from just graphics cards. They could use their ARM chips, and obviously use their tech in consoles, meaning they could have much better tech and they obviously set the price. They would also ensure PC gaming stick to DX11.

I would only support this if Apple was really going to buy them. Fuck Apple.
 
Domingo said:
Anything to further push Intel integrated graphics out of most PC's would make me happy. IMO, that's the #1 thing hurting PC gaming right there.
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really, that's the number 1 thing? it isn't the publishers pushing the developers to grind out another product in a year? or the cross-development with outdated platforms (ie., consoles)?

i really don't see how low-end integrated graphics for 90% of pc users hurts the high-end/custom market. i'd take a pci-e slot over being stuck with a graphics chip that i can't upgrade. also, why would intel stop putting a graphics core in their cpus simply because MS bought nvidia? I don't see the connection - at all.
 
John Vuong said:
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
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Pessimism:
It would signal the death of the AMD high end graphics. The fact that D3D was controlled by a third party that had no stake in either Nv or AMD meant that they would not play favorites.

If MS owned Nv, you can bet that MS would play favorites. Nv engineers would have a heads up on where D3D was going long b4 AMD did. They then could, and would, have a head start at tailoring their hardware and drivers to D3D.

Of course Apple buying Nv would be just as bad. Nv would prolly end up Apple only, and there primary focus in life would be making iphone and ipad graphics chips.

Reality:
A rumor from a not quite even third rate rumor site is hardly something to really worry over.

Optimism: I'm all out of that.
 
Interesting. But if AMD acquired ATI, then why didn't Intel try to acquire Nvidia?
 
TomGreen321 said:
nVidia have expanded from just graphics cards. They could use their ARM chips, and obviously use their tech in consoles, meaning they could have much better tech and they obviously set the price. They would also ensure PC gaming stick to DX11.

I would only support this if Apple was really going to buy them. Fuck Apple.
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X2, I dont care if M$ buys nVidia but I completely agree with preventing Apple from buying them.
Soon enough we'd see technologically "neutered" graphics cards just so Apple can put it in the next gen product to drive their sales up.

Stee nutJobs will then proclaim "zOMG REVOLUTIONARY!!!!!".
 
Motley said:
Interesting. But if AMD acquired ATI, then why didn't Intel try to acquire Nvidia?
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I don't think they are allowed to since they are already directly competing wheras MS is not. Or nvidia just doesn't like intel enough/intel doesn't like nvidia :p
 
intel's just waiting for the right price. Nvidia's price is way to high for Intel to buy it. AMD got ATI for dirt cheap and is now paying off. where as Nvidia is still expensive and would take far longer for Intel to make that money back. but right now both Intel and Nvidia have a deal with each other anyways, so intel profits thanks to nvidia and it doesn't cost Intel anything in return.

as far as apple goes that deal/rumor disappeared a long time ago when apple ditched nvidia for ATI during the HD5k series due to the much lower power requirements compared to the 400 series at that time, along with the fact that Nvidia isn't making any new ultra low end power efficient cards.
 
Um, this was a clause in a 10+ year old agreement dating back to the XBox 1 days. MS is not about to buy nvidia, but it does have the option (maybe, pending regulatory approval). :rolleyes:
 
kcmastrpc said:
really, that's the number 1 thing? it isn't the publishers pushing the developers to grind out another product in a year? or the cross-development with outdated platforms (ie., consoles)?

i really don't see how low-end integrated graphics for 90% of pc users hurts the high-end/custom market. i'd take a pci-e slot over being stuck with a graphics chip that i can't upgrade. also, why would intel stop putting a graphics core in their cpus simply because MS bought nvidia? I don't see the connection - at all.
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You're right, Intel integrated graphics aren't the number one reason why PC gaming is dying, but it is a big part. I think a MS and Nvidia aquisition would be a good thing for Microsoft. I'm not sure how it would play out though when it comes to new video cards.
 
If this happens, what would happen to Unix and Mac OS X drivers?

And then they buy AMD too, heh, man that would suck. Back to S3 and VIA? :p
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
as far as apple goes that deal/rumor disappeared a long time ago when apple ditched nvidia for ATI during the HD5k series due to the much lower power requirements compared to the 400 series at that time, along with the fact that Nvidia isn't making any new ultra low end power efficient cards.
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yeah.. i remember reading rumours of this years ago, but those rumours came to a halt as soon as apple switched to ati graphics. Not sure y the articles are still mentioning apple wanting to buy nvidia still.

What i do find interesting is that i do remember reading that microsoft hated nvidia because their relations tanked during the xbox days which was powered by a nvidia gpu so it does make me wonder about this....
 
sirmonkey1985 said:
intel's just waiting for the right price. Nvidia's price is way to high for Intel to buy it. AMD got ATI for dirt cheap and is now paying off. where as Nvidia is still expensive and would take far longer for Intel to make that money back. but right now both Intel and Nvidia have a deal with each other anyways, so intel profits thanks to nvidia and it doesn't cost Intel anything in return.

as far as apple goes that deal/rumor disappeared a long time ago when apple ditched nvidia for ATI during the HD5k series due to the much lower power requirements compared to the 400 series at that time, along with the fact that Nvidia isn't making any new ultra low end power efficient cards.
Click to expand...



Intel could buy nvidia anytime if they wanted to. They have loads of cash so price is no object. Apple and MS are on the same boat, they both have money to burn.

Of the three, IMO Intel would benefit the most, they would kill two birds with one stone, as they would have access to both gpu and ARM technologies.
 
I really don't know how to take this if it were true. All I'll say is as long as fucking apple doesn't get nvidia its a good day imo. I fucking hate apple. Nvidia and msft or nvda and intel I'm ok with.
 
Just rumors, not likely to happen.

Microsoft is a basically software company (especially the OS). If it buys nVidia there would be an antitrust case coming up because hard to imagine that MS not taking advantage of its own to play favorites. At the same time, it may lose partners such AMD and endanger even more with Intel.
 
lol imagine the lawsuite from amd against MS if they did :p

however it would be something great for MSs console future.
 
I'd rather they remain independent but no way in HELL would it be good for PC gaming for Apple to buy them. Do you really see Apple selling discrete GPUs and writing Windows drivers? God help us if they did.
 
just like AMD bought ATI, MS will buy NV, then Intel will buy MS and AMD. eventually Apple will buy all and call it Skynet...
 
If this were to happen I don't see it helping desktop gaming really. It would seemingly be a major vertical integration move for MS in the console arena...and possibly lead to their own tablet or phone as well.
 
no company is going to buy NV and stop selling gfx cards, as long as it is profitable, it will continue to happen.
 
MS has stake in the console market.
As long as that exists I do not trust this deal.
 
(Far-fetched idea, I know but hear me out on this.)

In my opinion, I think it's more of a deal regarding the next Microsoft console AND possibly a Microsoft branded phone or other portable device. (Microsoft KIN not included.)

Speculation #1: Next Microsoft console?
With the rumored specs of the next Wii HD/Project Cafe console from Nintendo and rumors of Sony going with a 16-core CELL processor in the next Playstation console, I've been awaiting word IF ANY from Microsoft about their response to this.

To me, it looked like they were in a wait and see position. I know a year or two ago, it was reported either in Kotaku, Engadget or Joystiq that Microsoft had no intention of making another console. They considered the 360 just enough given that the console could do a lot already either through DLCs, Kinect, and updates to the Live interface. They've added video streaming options with video-on-demand (VOD) supposedly coming as well.

Now that Nintendo and possibly Sony are readying their cards (so to speak) on the next generation of video consoles, it really looks like Microsoft is now getting theirs ready as well.

The only question I wonder is why Nvidia and not ATI given that the 360 was an ATI GPU. That's when I remembered that the very first Microsoft console, the Xbox, had an Nvidia GPU-- the NV2A. Now, the picture gets a little clearer but muddy at the same time.

Combine Microsoft's Xbox's NXE console software with a DirectX 10 Nvidia GPU competing with an RV700 (AMD) GPU in Project Cafe, you may get an idea what the next console will be like. Modified Geforce 200-series GPU in the next console perhaps?
​
Speculation #2: Microsoft branded smartphone/tablet to compete with Apple's iPad/iPhone? OR a Microsoft branded handheld to compete with the 3DS and NGP?
Nvidia's upcoming Tegra 3 will be a beast starting with the quad-core ARM CPU and 12-core GPU "Kal-el." You combine that fact with two other very concrete facts:

  1. Direct competitor is Apple. No one can deny that.
  2. Microsoft is already developing Windows 8 ARM version. Definitely a big hint in the direction where Microsoft is going.
If you want to stop or directly compete with Apple, you need software and hardware. Whether you like Apple or not, you have to admit that the iPhone and iPod products are hugely successful products. They both have intuitive software, a huge app marketplace, and hardware that has been copied ad nauseum by Android phones that even Apple sues Samsung for copying the iPhone's design.

As a company to compete with that, you need to both innovate and come out with something new and familiar to the consumer. Microsoft Windows is a readily recognized brand already but it hasn't translated much success in tablets and smartphones. (I know and read that a lot of people aren't too enthused by the MetroUI, but I like it. I guess I'm one of the few.)

Whether or not it is another Microsoft branded portable, this deal could possibly help Microsoft in the portable devices market.

Then, consider the Sony NGP/"Vita" coming out. It has a PowerVR GPU with a quad-core ARM CPU. Microsoft has not made a portable gaming device, yet. But, if you were to take a small portable Windows 8 kernel programmed for ARM-based devices with your choice of Tegra 3 SOCs, you have yourself a veritable competitor in the handheld gaming market.

Think about a Microsoft handheld connected to other MS Live devices-- smartphones, tablets, and 360 or next MS console. Sony has already planned the next handheld, NGP, to be able to have apps compatible with Android-based Sony smartphones and the NGP itself using its Playstation Suite. This is probably another area Microsoft can do well in with the established Live network and extensive software development experience-- C#, .NET, and Microsoft XNA.

​
Only time will tell if anything is revealed by Microsoft at this E3 or another event.
 
Last edited:
Aaron11 said:
You're right, Intel integrated graphics aren't the number one reason why PC gaming is dying, but it is a big part.
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Intel IGPs caught up to AMD IGPs almost 1.5 years ago (that will change with Llano's eventual release). Sub-low end discrete performance is still low end, whether it's Intel, nvidia or AMD, and none are really suitable for $50 price point games that sell well on consoles.

The AIB video card maket is still fairly strong and people do still play PC games. Unfortunately, too few feel the need to pay for the commercial games they play. ;)
 
Here is the original article.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/229900137

Buried deep within a quarterly earnings report Nvidia filed last week was a warning to investors that a number of factors could derail an acquisition by a third-party. For one, Nvidia's board can issue new shares without stockholder approval. That means it could dilute the percentage available to a would-be acquirer. Also, its strict voting rules would make it difficult for a third-party to mount a hostile acquisition campaign by proxy.

Most notably, Nvidia said any change in control of the company could be delayed or prevented by "our agreement with Microsoft," according to the filing. At current valuations, the clause would kick in if a potential acquirer offered about $3.4 billion for 30% or more of Nvidia.
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NV has a number of protections in place to prevent another company from buying them. This is just insurance really. It was set in place with the original Xbox to prevent Sony from buying NV and cock blocking MS. I guess it's still in place. Now it looks like Tegra is going to be the reference platform for MS tablets so it's probably still just insurance.

As for why Intel did not buy NVIDIA. They did not need to. They did a cross license agreement instead to get what they needed. Something AMD should have done as well.
 
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