Gaffey

Nvidia Admits to Underestimating AMD

> Physics on the GPU was done by ATI first a few years ago.

Only as a demo, they failed to ship it in usable form by game developers.

> ATI has enjoyed the better technological solution for many years

Can you say "R600"?

> The cold hard truth is that physics isn't a realistic play for software developers

This paragraph is right on, I agree. Undercutting the next one...

> The government has restrictions against sole source products so Intel can't afford for AMD to go away

No, but they can certainly afford for their ATI division to go away. Dirk Meyer may end up having to make that hard choice, given his dire finances.

> [Intel and AMD] partners in crime...

This is a stretch.

"User 243082" has it right about Larrabee. Intel's present software capability stinks, to say nothing of their poor relations with game developers. A GPU product's value is delivered through a broad and deep suite of software drivers, unlike CPUs or other PC components. ATI and Nvidia have mature driver suites, at great continuing development cost. Intel has to boot itself up from nowhere in this department. Good luck.

NVIDIA's Long-Term Prospects Mean It's Currently Undervalued

Intel, despite size and power, is missing an essential ingredient to make any real threat to Nvidia: software driver expertise. Both ATI and Nvidia supply a huge proportion of the actual value of their GPU products in the driver suite -- far more than any other device in a PC system.

Intel graphics drivers stink. Just try playing even a modest 3D game on an Intel graphics PC and see what happens to you. Culturally, software is alien to that company. I'm sure they are aware of this intellectually and are hiring to change it, but Intel is just a crummy place to work for software developers. I predict a really lousy user experience for Larrabee customers.

AMD/ATI doesn't have this problem. But if Dirk Meyer is forced to make any further major sacrifices to avoid insolvency, and has to choose between the old AMD or ATI, you know which one will be on the chopping block.