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NVIDIA settles with Intel for $1.5 billion and cross-licensing
Subject: Processors | January 10, 2011 - 05:37 PM | Ryan Shrout
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It has been an interesting evening in the world of high tech business as the post-CES silence was broken by two news-worthy stories. AMD's CEO gets kicked to the curb and now this: NVIDIA is settling its legal issues with Intel for $1.5 billion paid over five annual payments in exchange for a cross-licensing deal during that time. For all the talk from each company's respective CEOs over the years of this dispute, it all comes down to some simple payments and we'll likely not hear of it again until the renewal season is met.
The patents are really going one way here - Intel gets access to NVIDIA's portfolio of goodies in exchange for this payment. Does NVIDIA get access to Intel information? Likely, but it doesn't look like the green team has any plans to use it:
Well there you go - NVIDIA doesn't plan on to work on a processor compatible with x86 technology and instead is going to push forward with its Project Denver that will attempt to bring the ARM architecture to larger platforms like tablets, notebooks and even desktops. That much I have always believed - x86 is big, complex and not the best tool for the job in terms of mobile devices.
What we might have expected was a return of NVIDIA to the world of Intel platform core logic design, but that sounds like its out as well. I am guessing that restarting the division inside the company would take longer than it is worth and with the continued rise of Intel's desktop-class processor graphics, going down that road is less and less profitable.
Intel to Pay NVIDIA Technology Licensing Fees of $1.5 Billion
New Six-Year Cross-License Renews Previous AgreementSANTA CLARA, CA, Jan 10, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
NVIDIA announced today that it has signed a new six-year cross-licensing agreement with Intel.
For the future use of NVIDIA's technology, Intel will pay NVIDIA an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees payable in five annual installments, beginning Jan. 18, 2011.
NVIDIA and Intel have also agreed to drop all outstanding legal disputes between them.
"This agreement signals a new era for NVIDIA," said Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA's president and chief executive officer. "Our cross license with Intel reflects the substantial value of our visual and parallel computing technologies. It also underscores the importance of our inventions to the future of personal computing, as well as the expanding markets for mobile and cloud computing."
Under the new agreement, Intel will have continued access to NVIDIA's full range of patents. In return, NVIDIA will receive an aggregate of $1.5 billion in licensing fees, to be paid in annual installments, and retain use of Intel's patents, consistent with its existing six-year agreement with Intel. This excludes Intel's proprietary processors, flash memory and certain chipsets for the Intel platform.
The existing agreement is to expire March 31, 2011.
Pursuant to U.S. GAAP, a portion of the proceeds will be accounted for and attributed to the settlement of prior legal claims. This amount, which NVIDIA anticipates to be less than $100 million, will be included in the company's fourth-quarter results.
The balance of the licensing fees will be accounted for on a straight-line basis over the six-year term of the agreement. Accordingly it is anticipated that this would amount annually to approximately $233 million of operating income and an increase in net income of $0.29 per diluted share, on a full year basis.
AMD's CPU refresh
Subject: Processors | January 7, 2011 - 10:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Amongst the excitement of CES 2011, AMD's refreshing of their processor lineup has been overshadowed somewhat. You can get a look at the various models as well as the speed bumps that they represent by dropping by Legit Reviews.
CES 2011: AMD Fusion powers Rabbit Butt Projector
Subject: Processors | January 5, 2011 - 03:52 PM | Ryan Shrout
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At first you might think this is just a normal rabbit smoking a cigarette...
CES 2011 Video: AMD Showcases Fusion Processors
Subject: Processors | January 5, 2011 - 03:06 AM | Ryan Shrout
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During the opening festivities for CES tonight, AMD was on hand demonstrating a handful of design wins based on the new AMD E-series APUs. Previously called the Brazos platform, we spent some hands on time with the combined CPU/GPU back in November 2010 and came away very impressed.
CES 2011: VIA Releases Nano X2
Subject: Processors | January 4, 2011 - 02:02 PM | Josh Walrath
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Some months back I was able to lay hands on the latest dual core VIA Nano processor, albeit an engineering sample made on the older 65 nm process from TSMC. Now VIA has announced that their latest VIA Nano X2 chips are available at 40 nm. This should have a very positive effect on the power consumption of systems based on these chips.
CES 2011: GIGABYTE Unveils Its First AMD Fusion Mini-ITX Motherboard
Subject: Processors | January 4, 2011 - 03:08 AM | Ryan Shrout
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Jetway planning AMD Brazos platforms as well
Subject: Processors | December 21, 2010 - 10:47 AM | Ryan Shrout
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Not to be left out from the good news posted yesterday, Jetway sent over some pics and specifications on their upcoming Brazos mini-ITX platform, the NF81-LF. Though this product is targeted at the industrial and commercial segments, it still is interesting to hear reports of success with the chipset and processor and of early demand for it.
AMD Brazos platforms promised from at least four vendors
Subject: Processors | December 19, 2010 - 01:29 PM | Ryan Shrout
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Last month I got to spend some time with the first AMD Fusion that will hit the market in January, the Brazos platform that will go by many names: Ontario, Zecate, Brazos, AMD E-series CPUs, etc. The platform I tested looked like this:
Intel Sandy Bridge Core i7/i5 CPUs and MBs already for sale
Subject: Processors | December 16, 2010 - 12:40 PM | Ryan Shrout
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If you live in Malaysia at least. According to these photos from website lowyat.net, several Intel 2nd generation Core processors and compatible P67/H67 motherboards from ASUS are on sale at local shops.
AMD's new multi core black edition Christmas presents
Subject: Processors | December 7, 2010 - 01:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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New today are the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T, the Athlon II X3 455 and the Phenom II X2 565, both unlocked Black Edition CPUs. The new flagship 1100T, at about $265 has of course lowered the prices on the two previous hexa core models, the 1090T and the 1075T, meaning you can get your hands on a choice of 6 core processors from AMD without coming near the $300 mark. In Josh's tests the CPU was able to take on the i7 860, a CPU that cost about $100 more. Check out the performance of a chip that is likely
Your CPUs ability to provide food for your Crossfired HD6850s
Subject: Processors | December 3, 2010 - 12:28 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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You have purchased a pair of HD6850's for setting up a Crossfire system, but as you are trying to build a powerful but inexpensive PC you don't want to double your budget with a high end Core i7 CPU. Tweaktown set out to see what varying the clock speed on a Core i7 would do to the performance of several popular new games. In some cases you do indeed see performance scaling but in others it falls more upon the GPU than the CPU, making the value of purc
An indepth look at the $200 or less CPU market
Subject: Processors | November 26, 2010 - 04:45 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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X-Bit Labs is working on a series of articles that seek to contrast the performance of CPUs at a variety of different price points. Currently they have two parts of the series published, the first of which deals with the Budget Market. They have set the upper boundary at $100, which included 8 AMD CPUs and 7 Intel which shows you just how much choice you have even at the extreme low end.
Just how fast can a Bobcat go
Subject: Processors | November 16, 2010 - 01:10 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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It has been a bit of a wait but we finally get to report on
the performance of AMD's new Brazos platform. It is the AMD E-350 1.6 GHz APU
that is up for reveiw, against other low powered mobile CPUs like Intel's SU2300 CULV, the Atom D510
and the new VIA Nano DC. The results are an interesting mix, perhaps made more so by some results in Sandra that hint at some changes needed to be made to the benchmark. In other cases we saw Intel's CULV+ION platform using more than twice as much power at idle and 3
Early info on AMD's Brazos platform
Subject: Processors | November 9, 2010 - 01:43 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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The Brazos platform will be similar to Intel's Centrino as it is defined by what is inside the mobile computer as opposed to being a distinct part. In this case we see a Zacate or Ontario
APU and the Hudson I/O chip inside any and all Brazos PCs. The two APUs have consolidated a GPU component with video decoding logic, a single-channel DDR3 memory controller, and a controller for PCI Express lanes and display outputs along with two Bobcat cores, all hiding inside the 75mm2 die.
Using the Core i7 970 as a GPU
Subject: Processors | November 4, 2010 - 02:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Phoronix has been having a lot of fun with the 12 threads on offer to owners of the i7 970, testing the performance scaling of multiple threads in Linux. Their most recent experiment involved the Gallium3D LLVMpipe (Low-Level Virtual Machine compiler) driver that allows you to use your CPU as an OpenGL accelerator. Until recently this has not been terribly useful, GPUs are a viable product because they are just so darn good at what they do and is why the discussions of GPGPUs and APUs are so closely watched. This experiment differs from that topic but does show how effective
Linux and the i7 970
Subject: Processors | October 28, 2010 - 06:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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There is sometimes an assumption made when talking about Linux boxen that they are for low cost systems; one which is not really correct at all except for some bored and curious home users. Take Phoronix who are testing the Core i7 970 on Linux, a CPU that is anything but cheap. Apart from some remaining minor issues with the x58
Intel CPU names got you down? Here's the cheat sheet
Subject: Processors | October 20, 2010 - 01:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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Intel has been putting a lot of effort into confusing purchasers of retail processors and motherboards, at least the ones that keep up to date with their processor families. If you remember a chipset called Ibex Peak but cannot remember what it retailed as or which market it was intended for then bookmark this page from Hardware Secrets.
AMD showcases Llano APU In Taiwan
Subject: Processors | October 19, 2010 - 12:21 AM | Ryan Shrout
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We have been getting bits and pieces of information about AMD's Llano processor for weeks now and during an event in Taiwan, AMD revealed just a bit more. Llano was demonstrated running for the first time on their Super Sumo board - a benchmark of the AMD-stalwart Aliens vs Predator game was the demonstration of choice.
AMD's Llano reference platform
Finding the multi-core sweet spot
Subject: Processors | October 7, 2010 - 01:29 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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The hot debate used to be about how much RAM was too much and how much was just right. Not too long ago 2GB of system RAM was something to brag about, now no one cares unless you are talking about that much RAM on your graphics subsystem. Now that 64-bit OSes are common as are home rigs with over 6GB of RAM the tech community needs something new to argue about and turned to the obvious target ...
Putting AMDs new CPUs in context
Subject: Processors | September 29, 2010 - 05:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
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By now you should be familiar with the new CPU models that AMD has released; if not you should read Josh's article right now. ExtremeTech chose different processors to compare the new models against including some relatively similarly priced Intel CPUs. If you are on the fence about spending the extra money for a Core i3 or i5 system or saving some cash going with AMD, this is a great reference article for you.
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