Microsoft to buy AMD

This is interesting , they could offered the R&D , but knowing Microsoft they could destroy it too .

Source : http://www.kitguru.net/components/anton-shilov/microsoft-is-interested-to-buy-advanced-micro-devices-source/

What do you think ?

i can see why they would do it. they would have all the expertise needed in house to design and build their next consoles.

i dont see MS trying to take on chipzilla though.

i think it would be a bad move though for the PC. the last thing we need is AMD removed as an option. if they are to be bought out i would prefer to see them bought out by another hardware company...a company that would be interested in lighting a fire under intels backside. Nvidias too.

im not against a buyout for AMD...it could lead to better things in time depending on who buys them.

but, from a PC perspective, i think MS are the wrong company.

we need at least 2 companies trying to knock the crap out of each other and, ideally, i would prefer to see a 3rd horse in both the CPU and GPU race.

I could very well see Microsoft completing a buyout of AMD and leaving them as is, using them to develop and build future chips for Windows devices, as well as maintaining and advancing the current hardware development. Cutting costs and leading to higher revenues and more Windows built devices. All-in-all it would actually be a decently smart purchase for Microsoft. Instead of being reliant on Intel to power their devices Microsoft could more easily create and mass produce their own chips and cards for their devices. AMD has been on the decline and could really use a large partner boost.

Then they could charge Sony a fortune for the chips on the Playstation. It would be a good move.

From SW:

I think that's a fair point.

? all it takes is one court decision that it isnt a monopoly and there is nothing intel and nvidia could do about it...

the company i work for just went through a similar battle, and it took about a year to resolve. it wouldnt exactly be that laborious of a process...

If you ask me AMD could really use this, they've been going downhill...

I think this could be a great thing. As much as people like to rag on MS, AMD is clearly struggling while being the primary competitor on two fronts against Nvidia and Intel. Those two are basically the MS of their respective hardware segments in terms of clout, and in the interest of maintaining healthy competition in the hardware sector I would like to see AMD get a huge influx of R&D $ and software support.

@osan0:

i would love this to happen. Nvidia are pieces of shits with their monopolistic practises. If ms were to purchase AMD though, that would end right away..game developers don't have the balls to favorite nvidia over MS. MS could take over AMD cpu business and take a piece of intels massive pie as well.

Anyone but Moneysoft

Why not Microsoft? Who would be better?

Microsoft is perfect because they have the following, the money, and the skills to get AMD back to competing with Intel and Nvidia. Intel and Nvidia would really have to step their game up and that would be nothing but good for competition.

I doubt it is going to happen, but I think it would be a positive thing for the PC Gaming community. Hell, with AMD maybe MS will finally decide to start caring about PC Gaming again (yeah right).

@blaznwiipspman1: and in turn MS could turn AMD to be far more nasty. what about linux support? whats to drive them to advance the hardware beyond what their next console needs? whats to stop them from going on a patent troll run? stop sony from using AMD for its next console? If MS were to buy them i could quickly see vendor lockin become a big thing for AMD....thats a really really bad thing for the PC.

i mean i agree with you about some of nvidias and intels practices and they should be getting smacked around more for it but MS are far from being sweethearts.

im not sure who i would like to see buy out AMD but companies i definately dont want to see buying them out are MS, Sony, Nintendo (not on the cards), apple (also probably not on the cards), Nvidia or Intel.

could they be brought in under the ARM wing as a fabless company perhaps (i think they already are fabless..they sold them a few years back)? im not sure how sub licensing x86 processors would go though (seriously...the X86 license needs to be taken off intel at this stage and put in a NFP oversight company....this is just getting silly with the X86 licenses) but it could make for a more competative market.

samsung would give AMD access to some pretty sohpisticated fab plants which would solve a lot of problems on the heat and power draw side and give them more room to build a more advanced architecture...but samsung are also a pretty nasty piece of work at times so that would be a double edged sword.

Microsoft, I don't know, I am not optimistic, splitting up amd deal is for wall street so they can bid up shares, sell high, break up the company, lay off workers, sell the patents an pocket the proceeds.

AMD is being destroyed by poor corporate management, the engineers have always done an outstanding job on the hardware side, keeping pace with the giants, corporate should have or must invest more in the software engineering side, improving their drivers for the gpu's, expanding mantle as a suite, to include tress fx etc, developing their own tech to rival nvidia's phys x, this would require continuous on site engineers working with all the different os, engine and game devs from start constantly improving so that can compete more effectively with intel and nividia. They missed an opportunity to greater support Linux, steam os and steam machines. All this requires capital in to be invested in tech not share dividends.

i think it would be good for pc gaming. If MS bought AMD and started making high end graphics cards, theyd have an interest in seeing the pc market succeed. This may lead to halo for pc...

the question is what will nvida do if this is true ? and happen ? this could be big hit for nvida and intel :D

Samsung would be much better.

I bet nvidia would be happy about this too since I don't doubt that Samsung would invest much more into moblie gpu's and cpu's to help their own products instead of taking on nvidia in the desktop graphics area.

Good for AMD, I think...

Won't Sony turn to other manufacturers for chips then? Wouldn't they then just be passing the optimization and "TWIMTBP" problems to consoles?

I can see this going two ways. Either AMD as a GPU and CPU manufacturer becomes more of e Microsoft only company selling less consumer products and more making products within the windows product lines. Or Microsoft lights a fire under their ass and actually starts to make AMD competitive with Nvidia and intel. Interested to see if this pansout or not. I'm not against it by any means just not sure how it would turn out for the average gaming consumer.

Although in the past Microsoft has had a hardware division and could feasibly benefit to have one yet again; it will not, however, be a reality at this moment.

One popular rumor is that at $100 per AMD chip for the Xbox, Microsoft could absorb the company and eliminate the cost.
In reality, this is not so simple. $100 is not pure profit for AMD - It would be closer to $30 profit and $70 material/research cost.
Tooling alone is untold millions, which is why companies such as TSMC exist.

So you can see, Microsoft would end up absorbing cost, no profit - even with Sony and Nintendo using AMD chips.

Another, more grounded rumor is that Samsung has been (for some time now) looking to purchase AMD and absorb it's assets.
This would greatly benefit both companies as Samsung is the only other company that can rival Intel's 16nm process, soon to be 14, soon to be 12.

Samsung would gain engineers worth decades of experience each, and AMD would gain an actual viable R&D budget and all the wonderful marketing AMD truly needs.

All-in-all: nobody publically knows. I strongly feel It would not be Microsoft, but It certainly help AMD if it were true.A point to make: ATI was worth 3x more then AMD is now before it was purchase in 2006. Not all assets may be left in place if AMD is to be bought.

Look at Nokia.

I don't usually buy AMD but it seems a bad thing for PC builders... Knowing Microsoft AMD probably won't be the affordable option anymore and that's bad for everyone.

Many sources write about this, but there is nothing definite there, so hopefully it's just a rumor. From pure Linux user perspective it is like a bad dream. Not long ago AMD released their driver code, and even hired open-source programmers to help community with open drivers. Microsoft will surely reverse the process...just when peoples hopes were starting to rise...

Something I found interesting about another company buying AMD, is that they could realistically lose the licensing for x86 architecture. How that would affect PS4/Xbox One is unknown but it would be likely that they would still be allowed to produce existing products but there is a chance that they could lose the rights to produce anything based on x86.

The exact terms of the 2009 settlement remain a secret. But it’s generally known that the new agreement relaxed some of the restrictions on AMD. Chimpzilla eventually agreed to cede its stake in GlobalFoundries, and it began using TSMC to manufacture x86 CPUs like Brazos and Kabini. Prior to the settlement, it had no such option. The one restriction that supposedly didn’t change, however, was that AMD is required to remain an independent entity. To the best of my knowledge, if Samsung acquires AMD, AMD’s x86 license is null and void. It’s not clear what would happen to the company’s already-manufactured inventory, or its PS4 and Xbox One designs — though presumably deals would be worked out to ensure that existing hardware could be sold and the rights of Microsoft and Sony to the hardware they paid for would presumably be respected.

Source - this an article from earlier this year about Samsung possibly buying AMD

MS buying AMD could also wreak Linux variants/OpenGL (SteamOS) as an upcoming rival for Windows/DX12 as a gaming operating system.

Wait what? What are you basing this off of?

and that one decision could cost a ton of money and time

my thoughts? i'm glad we still have NVIDIA. MS can do what ever the hell they want with AMD imo.

how the hell you think they can move units, if not with a good price-performance ratio? you honestly think that their plan is to start selling overpriced crap? lol. it would die in less than a year.

You won't be glad when Nivida and Intel jack up their prices if Microsoft removes AMD from direct competition.

My reaction to this rumor: HELL TO THE **** NO!