AMD Hires Bank To Explore Sale Options

Dainsanefh tips this report from Reuters: "Advanced Micro Devices has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to explore options, which could include a potential sale, as the chipmaker struggles to find a role in an industry increasingly focused on mobile and away from traditional PCs, according to three sources familiar with the situation. ... Some investors believe part or all of AMD could be bought by a technology company that might want to emulate Apple Inc's tight control of software and components, a strategy credited in part for the success of the iPad and iPhone. Microsoft Corp, Google Inc, Samsung Electronics, Intel Corp and even Facebook Inc have been suggested by Wall Street analysts as potential suitors that could benefit from some of AMD's chip business, including its graphics division, PC processors and server chips. Others say AMD's most valuable asset may be its deep bench of engineers or its patents." Update: 11/14 01:44 GMT by S : In an emailed statement, an AMD representative said the company "is not actively pursuing a sale of the company or significant assets at this time."

Re:AMD was better

[viperidaenz]

All Bulldozer-based processors and future generation AMD processors have hardware accelerated AES. Intel usually doesn't, but frequently they don't even specify it.

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced?AESTech=true [intel.com] Right down to the first-gen Core i5's

AMD processors all support ECC memory, while Intel usually only supports it in the Xeon processors (which can cost thousands of dollars).

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced/?s=t&ECCMemory=true [intel.com] Even i3 CPU's support ECC.

AMD was also committed to Coreboot for a while, which was great for our freedom. (Unfortunately, they haven't released the required specifications for their more recent chips.)

You mean they not only failed to promote your freedom, they also reneged on a promise?

Probably looking for quick cash

[thedarknite]

The article text actually says that they are not pursuing a sale strategy but they need to fix their profitability. AMD is the GPU supplier for the Wii U, and early development boxes for the new xbox and playstation are running AMD chipsets. So AMD should just need to stay afloat until all the next gen consoles are released to return to being profitable.

Re:i don't get it

[Anonymous Coward]

intel processors soundly trump AMD in almost every conceivable metric that matters

Except price/performance.

Re:AMD was better

[Microlith]

AMD processors all support ECC memory, while Intel usually only supports it in the Xeon processors (which can cost thousands of dollars).

http://ark.intel.com/search/advanced/?s=t&ECCMemory=true [intel.com] Even i3 CPU's support ECC.

Only for a small, random smattering of chips. The vast majority of i5s and i7s you find on Newegg and the like don't, and most systems that ship also don't include CPUs with ECC support. It's certainly not universal across all products, while AMD has made things like VT-x, VT-d, and ECC common to all their processors.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:At Least

[Anonymous Coward]

Fuck China, even if they did ok with maintaining IBM's ThinkPad quality - until they decided to ditch its perfect keyboard. China does not innovate. It was Intel, with AMD constantly biting its heels, who drove the rapid advancement of low-cost, high-speed, powerful microprocessors. Wow! They ran desktop OSes i.e. Microsoft. Losing AMD will fucking suck innovation-wise. Wheeeee! But I want my tablet like in the commercials where everybody's so hipster happy! On this path, when you need workstation level performance, go to the office and work on your $10k entry-level workstation. Damned fools for yielding yet more personal power and freedom, in favor of the dubious online shiny. Oh good idea! Lets let low cost, high-value, open desktops crash and burn. Not every damned corporate app is a simple front-end to a corporate database.