Intel has reportedly signed a deal with AMD to license Radeon graphics

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,240   +192
Staff member

HardOCP's Kyle Bennett this past May published an editorial in which he painted a rather bleak picture of the happenings inside AMD’s walls. Specifically, Bennett – based on conversations with a number of current (at the time) and former employees – said Raja Koduri, leader of the Radeon Technologies Group (RTG), wanted to spin off from the rest of AMD and once again become “ATI.” Key to realizing this goal was to become the GPU technology supplier of choice for arch rival Intel.

Seems pretty far-fetched, no? Maybe not.

Intel said a month earlier that it was cutting 12,000 jobs due to the continued downturn in the PC industry. Bennett reported that well over 1,000 graphics engineers and employees working directly with graphics engineers were let go in anticipation of Intel handing over graphics-related tasks to AMD.

Fast-forward more than six months to late Monday evening where Bennett proclaims in the HardOCP forum that the licensing deal between AMD and Intel to put AMD’s GPU technology into Intel’s iGPU is signed and done.

If true and taken literally, it would be an unprecedented move from both parties (I have no reason to doubt Bennett or his sources as he was already established and respected long before I ever came online).

Forbes, on the other hand, floats the possibility that it could be little more than a patent cross-licensing play like the one Intel has in place with Nvidia to protect itself from patent infringement. That agreement, curiously enough, is set to expire on March 31, 2017 according to the publication.

Those interested in digging deeper are encouraged to check out Bennett’s editorial, the 65 pages of subsequent discussion in HardOCP’s forum and Forbes’ write-up on the patent angle. Very interesting stuff.

Permalink to story.

 
It used to be AMD vs Intel. And ATI VS Nvidia.

ATI became AMD. And now AMD wants to sell ATI to Intel?

I here AMD processors sucks compared to Intel
and of course ATI/AMD radeon is falling behind next to Nvidia's billion dollar investment 1080 GTX.

I hope AMD/ATI can come out with an answer to the 1080 to compete. But can they pull it off?
 
This could be a HUGE move for AMD. That many chips all running AMD graphics, not to mention the additional money. It could also mean we could finally see more heterogeneous programs that leverage the GPU and CPU. If both AMD and Intel are running AMD graphics, you only have to target one GPU architecture. It would also mean Free-Sync and OpenCL become the defacto standards, although I do think free-sync is already poised to beat out G-Sync (Heck, my monitor even has free-sync as a extra feature I didn't even care about and I'm running an Nvidia card).
 
Or as Forbes has basically said, it means nothing more than a cross licensing deal to avoid any patent infringement. Time will tell.

Nvidia isn't nor has it been worried about AMD for a long time, this wont be changing anything.

Also free sync don't work with Nvidia cards so there's no point in that convo.
G sync at some point will just be software based, Nvidia is just milking all it can out of it. That's been known for years. In case people didn't know, g sync has been software based for laptops for awhile now.
 
It used to be AMD vs Intel. And ATI VS Nvidia.

ATI became AMD. And now AMD wants to sell ATI to Intel?

I here AMD processors sucks compared to Intel
and of course ATI/AMD radeon is falling behind next to Nvidia's billion dollar investment 1080 GTX.

I hope AMD/ATI can come out with an answer to the 1080 to compete. But can they pull it off?
AMD is not selling ATI.
 
This was really inevitable. Intel invested for a long time in a graphics division and the only place it was working was in marketing. Apple requested Intel up their gfx game and they just haven't been able to achieve significant. Big investment and basically desktop 2D performance.

I'm seeing this as a positive. Looking forward to decent integrated GPUs now in Intel processors. This is a good day.
 
Or as Forbes has basically said, it means nothing more than a cross licensing deal to avoid any patent infringement. Time will tell.

Nvidia isn't nor has it been worried about AMD for a long time, this wont be changing anything.

Also free sync don't work with Nvidia cards so there's no point in that convo.
G sync at some point will just be software based, Nvidia is just milking all it can out of it. That's been known for years. In case people didn't know, g sync has been software based for laptops for awhile now.

Don't hold your breath for Nvidia to make G-Sync software based. They've held onto PhysX for a long time, they aren't know to release anything for free.

It doesn't matter if Free-Sync doesn't work with Nvidia cards, Intel owns a far greater share of the overall graphics market then Nvidia does. Intel having AMD GPUs means AMD gains a majority of the market, even if it is low end graphics. They can use than momentum to push their APIs and Free-Sync. If you haven't noticed there are already far more Free-Sync displays than G-Sync. Obviously Nvidia supporting it hasn't been an issue.

Even if it is just a licensing agreement, Intel has already agreed to implement Free-Sync. AMD's stock soaring in price right now make one believe it could very well be more than just a licensing agreement to avoid patent issues.
 
This was really inevitable. Intel invested for a long time in a graphics division and the only place it was working was in marketing. Apple requested Intel up their gfx game and they just haven't been able to achieve significant. Big investment and basically desktop 2D performance.

I'm seeing this as a positive. Looking forward to decent integrated GPUs now in Intel processors. This is a good day.

Intel has come a LONG way in all fairness. Even when comparing the A10 to a Iris Pro 6200 for example, you have comparable framerates. I know that a lot of that comes from the CPU part as well but still. Not bad.
 
Just a licensing agreement, repeat a licensing agreement.

I checked the forum discussion and here's what Kyle had to say about whether or not AMD will be merely license IP or actively develop AMD IGP tech for intel cpus:

To my understanding patents for current technology are going to be extended and AMD teams will be working on tech to be used in future Intel products. I do not think it is an either/or situation.
- Kyle_Bennett
 
It simply doesn't seem logical. Wouldn't it be better to buy a struggling Imagination Technology? They would gain licenses they need +GPU teach they don't have & one of the best driver engineering divisions in industry regarding GPU's (something AMD lacks). Not to mention they would gain a large ticket back into the embedded industry and also a usable IoT strategy all that with MIPS. Last but not least they would be also getting into the Apple's pants & just me by able to get them for the foundery business in the future. All do this would also need more significant amounts of investment but I think it's worthwhile...
 
It simply doesn't seem logical. Wouldn't it be better to buy a struggling Imagination Technology? They would gain licenses they need +GPU teach they don't have & one of the best driver engineering divisions in industry regarding GPU's (something AMD lacks). Not to mention they would gain a large ticket back into the embedded industry and also a usable IoT strategy all that with MIPS. Last but not least they would be also getting into the Apple's pants & just me by able to get them for the foundery business in the future. All do this would also need more significant amounts of investment but I think it's worthwhile...

AMD drivers have been better than Nvidia's for some time now and they are about to release a their yearly overhaul. There are doing allot better than Nvidia, which itself has had multiple fiascos just this year.
 
AMD drivers have been better than Nvidia's for some time now and they are about to release a their yearly overhaul. There are doing allot better than Nvidia, which itself has had multiple fiascos just this year.
Yea right that's why GTX 1060 beets a X480 in Dx titles & why OGL Radeon Linux open source GPU drivers menage to su pass performance of property ones. Grow up.
 
Yea right that's why GTX 1060 beets a X480 in Dx titles & why OGL Radeon Linux open source GPU drivers menage to su pass performance of property ones. Grow up.

Grow up? Is that your defense? I guess that's all you can say when I state facts. If you are unaware of the multiple issues Nvidia has been having this year with drivers, go look it up. Calling up AMD for drivers when the leader in the field, Nvidia, is having a worse time is ridiculous.

Also, you need to calm down when rage typing. Half your words are misspelled. Hard to take "Grow up" seriously when you use the improper homophone "beets".
 
AMD drivers have been better than Nvidia's for some time now and they are about to release a their yearly overhaul. There are doing allot better than Nvidia, which itself has had multiple fiascos just this year.
Hold your horses now, Didn't AMD have a driver issue this year that was frying motherboards? I've gotta agree that Nvidia drivers have been a bit down recently, Flickering and issues with Flash, GeForce Experience overhaul etc... But calling them outright better (or worse) is rubbish, they're about as bad as each other right now.

I do hope AMD make a come back to the 1080 or soon to be 1080Ti. Lack of competition is letting Nvidia run wild with the prices at the moment.
 
AMD drivers have been better than Nvidia's for some time now and they are about to release a their yearly overhaul. There are doing allot better than Nvidia, which itself has had multiple fiascos just this year.
Yea right that's why GTX 1060 beets a X480 in Dx titles & why OGL Radeon Linux open source GPU drivers menage to su pass performance of property ones. Grow up.
Just leaving this here for you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEw3CaNSbUo
 
This was really inevitable. Intel invested for a long time in a graphics division and the only place it was working was in marketing. Apple requested Intel up their gfx game and they just haven't been able to achieve significant. Big investment and basically desktop 2D performance.

I'm seeing this as a positive. Looking forward to decent integrated GPUs now in Intel processors. This is a good day.

Intel has come a LONG way in all fairness. Even when comparing the A10 to a Iris Pro 6200 for example, you have comparable framerates. I know that a lot of that comes from the CPU part as well but still. Not bad.
Here is the issue. Show me a laptop with iris pro that isnt a macbook. I'll wait.

Either intel has been unable to actually produce the iris pro in a significant amount, or they are doing a terrible job of delivering it. I've been waiting since the first iris pro for a good laptop with that iGPU, and so far nothing. Clevo made 1, that ran as hot as a nuclear reactor. MSI made one that was loud as a jet plane with terrible battery life.

Meanwhile, at the height of Llano/trinity, finding the highest end A8/A10 chip wasnt hard. Most laptops could be configured with the highest end chip. I had 2 laptops with the a10 chip in them.

The issue is AMD doesnt care what laptop OEMs make. There is no quality control. AMD needs their "ultrabook" moment where they show OEMs how it's done.

As for the desktop, the fact that an iris pro chip, if you could find one, was 3x as expensive as a A10 says it all. Cost wayyyy to much for what it offered.
 
AMD drivers have been better than Nvidia's for some time now and they are about to release a their yearly overhaul. There are doing allot better than Nvidia, which itself has had multiple fiascos just this year.
Yea right that's why GTX 1060 beets a X480 in Dx titles & why OGL Radeon Linux open source GPU drivers menage to su pass performance of property ones. Grow up.

You do realize the RX 480 has won every major game release since its launch except GoW4. In fact in titles that's fully implement new DX12/Vulkan the 480 is actually just a hair slower than the GTX 1070 at 60% the price. You might want to try reading updated benchmarks.
 
I here AMD processors sucks compared to Intel

Now they don't, they have been trying to compete and at one point they did pretty well, now they are oriented to other segments. Specifically in the budget zone.
All true, however, December 13, 2016 could be a game-changer for AMD. Don't get me wrong; I am well aware of the Bullcrap fiasco, but that was with a CEO that had no clue as to how tech works and probably could barely pronounce the word. My bet is that Lisa Su will live up to her silicon-on-insulator co-inventor heritage and bring AMD procs back to the forefront - but I have my fingers crossed just in case Zen is drek.
 
Hold your horses now, Didn't AMD have a driver issue this year that was frying motherboards? I've gotta agree that Nvidia drivers have been a bit down recently, Flickering and issues with Flash, GeForce Experience overhaul etc... But calling them outright better (or worse) is rubbish, they're about as bad as each other right now.

I do hope AMD make a come back to the 1080 or soon to be 1080Ti. Lack of competition is letting Nvidia run wild with the prices at the moment.

That wasn't a driver issue, it was hardware related. It was only on cheap motherboards that are usually not paired with high-end graphics cards.
 
AMD drivers have been better than Nvidia's for some time now and they are about to release a their yearly overhaul. There are doing allot better than Nvidia, which itself has had multiple fiascos just this year.
Yea right that's why GTX 1060 beets a X480 in Dx titles & why OGL Radeon Linux open source GPU drivers menage to su pass performance of property ones. Grow up.

LOLZ, pay much attention?the AMD RX480 is creaming the 1060 Nvidia card in DX 12 right now and almost a tie in DX11. AMD drivers have been monthly release at updates, and AMD hired the best software engineer for graphics known. I have a feeling Kaduri has the ball and is running the court.
 
It used to be AMD vs Intel. And ATI VS Nvidia.

ATI became AMD. And now AMD wants to sell ATI to Intel?

I here AMD processors sucks compared to Intel
and of course ATI/AMD radeon is falling behind next to Nvidia's billion dollar investment 1080 GTX.

I hope AMD/ATI can come out with an answer to the 1080 to compete. But can they pull it off?


Nvidia is screwed.

"ATI became AMD. And now AMD wants to sell ATI to Intel?"

No, you misread. Intel buying ATI would not put it in any different position it is now, just a part of a CPU company. It says he wants to be a SUPPLIER to Intel.

It SAID:

"Key to realizing this goal was to become the GPU technology SUPPLIER of choice for arch rival Intel."

And what is meant by "sucks" compared to Intel? Under that reasoning, that's like saying Buick sucks compared to Cadillac. Your rendition of the comparison is the usual over-simplification of the situation. Sure it would suck if you were paying hundreds of dollars more for AMD like Intel charges, but you are not. You in fact are getting a great bargain, seeing how the FX model's performance is not far from i5 performance, which sucks because it costs twice as much but you don't get twice the performance improvement with an i5. Now THAT sucks!
 
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