Reddit user discloses how Intel sabotaged AMD's business in 2005

[KevKev]

[...] Intel paid PC manufacturers out of its own pocket for years to not buy AMD's chips. Although they were faster, manufacturers went with the bribe because the amount they made from that outweighed the amount they get from happy customers buying their powerful computers.

• Intel rewarded OEMs to not use AMD’s processors through various means, such as volume discounts, withholding advertising & R&D money, and threatening OEMs with a low-priority during CPU shortages.
• Intel reworked their compiler to put AMD CPUs at a disadvantage. For a time Intel’s compiler would not enable SSE/SSE2 codepaths on non-Intel CPUs, our assumption is that this is the specific complaint. To our knowledge this has been resolved for quite some time now (as of late 2010).
• Intel paid/coerced software and hardware vendors to not support or to limit their support for AMD CPUs. This includes having vendors label their wares as Intel compatible, but not AMD compatible.
• False advertising. This includes hiding the compiler changes from developers, misrepresenting benchmark results (such as BAPCo Sysmark) that changed due to those compiler changes, and general misrepresentation of benchmarks as being “real world” when they are not.
• Intel eliminated the future threat of NVIDIA’s chipset business by refusing to license the latest version of the DMI bus (the bus that connects the Northbridge to the Southbridge) and the QPI bus (the bus that connects Nehalem processors to the X58 Northbridge) to NVIDIA, which prevents them from offering a chipset for Nehalem-generation CPUs.
• Intel “created several interoperability problems” with discrete CPUs, specifically to attack GPGPU functionality. We’re actually not sure what this means, it may be a complaint based on the fact that Lynnfield only offers single PCIe x16 connection coming from the CPU, which wouldn’t be enough to fully feed two high-end GPUs.
• Intel has attempted to harm GPGPU functionality by developing Larrabee. This includes lying about the state of Larrabee hardware and software, and making disparaging remarks about non-Intel development tools.
• In bundling CPUs with IGP chipsets, Intel is selling them at below-cost to drive out competition. Given Intel’s margins, we find this one questionable. Below-cost would have to be extremely cheap.
• Intel priced Atom CPUs higher if they were not used with an Intel IGP chipset.
• All of this has enhanced Intel’s CPU monopoly.

Permalink to Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/3s5r4d/is_nvidia_sabotaging_performance_for_no_visual/cwukpuc

 

 

Edit: Sources can be find in the linked Reddit post.

[The_Stig]

It's reddit though, this may or may not be true.

Edit: the reddit link has dozens of sources, nvm

[Xenift]

If so many shit starts to happen to both the companies i doubt we have any CPU to buy in the end.

[AresKrieger]

Reddit isn't a source I'd call reliably honestly, also all companies try to destroy their competitors, or did you think companies were like hippies, all communal and valuing peace and love.

[Burusutazu]

Microsoft did this to venders who offered Linux in the past so this is not really news to me, it's standard business practice.

[Short Round]

Interesting. I guess it makes sense why AMD has been unable to compete. No sales means no R&D.

[UnknownEngineer]

I am pretty sure this has been known for a while, Intel has since gotten a new CEO. IIRC.

 

Plenty of reason to still be disappointed in Intel nowadays too, the drivers for Skylake are.... lacking... IME driver issues are my biggest gripe.

[Samfisher]

This is...new?  This news is at least 5 years old, with the event happening 10 years ago.  I would think most if not all the people here already knew about this.

 

More like : Reddit user digs up old news article for an "Intel CPU refresh".  Kek, I did go there.

[Dabombinable]

 

Permalink to Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/3s5r4d/is_nvidia_sabotaging_performance_for_no_visual/cwukpuc

 

 

Edit: Sources can be find in the linked Reddit post.

 

That's just a thread with various bits of news from a while ago pieced together.

[DildorTheDecent]

Well at least Intel actually made an attempt to seize the market.

 

How to roll in the dough basically. 

[Enderman]

lol you're 10 years late on your "news"

https://www.amd.com/Documents/AMD-Intel_Full_Complaint.pdf

this document was released in June 27, 2005

[Morgan MLGman]

I wonder how much, if any, of this is true.

[KevKev]

This is...new?  This news is at least 5 years old, with the event happening 10 years ago.  I would think most if not all the people here already knew about this.

 

Its all old - but still ongoing. Intel actually has multiple court orders instructing them to stop "compiler cheating". Turns out, they did not stop. 

 

In any case, I think not everyone knew.

[Sauron]

If so many shit starts to happen to both the companies i doubt we have any CPU to buy in the end.

 

intel isn't short on money - amd on the other hand could use a cheque from them

[Tomsen]

Reddit user doesn't disclose anything new.
They have changed their business. Changing it for a more legal business, but with the same purpose overall 

[CTR640]

Well, you know what, I hope AMD will get bankrupt. not for the sake of AMD but to get Intel dragged to the court for monopoly.

It's really saddening to see AMD not doing good but Intel keeps laughing their asses off and charge us damn lots of money for very minimal performance each year.

[UnknownEngineer]

Its all old - but still ongoing. Intel actually has multiple court orders instructing them to stop "compiler cheating". Turns out, they did not stop. 

 

In any case, I think not everyone knew.

The court order was to either stop "compiler cheating" or then to be clear about doing it.

They chose the latter.

[Prysin]

Reddit isn't a source I'd call reliably honestly, also all companies try to destroy their competitors, or did you think companies were like hippies, all communal and valuing peace and love.

If AMD or Nvidia had done this, your tone would be different.

[bogus]

Currently that's the state of NVIDIA - where they are buying and pressuring developers.

I don't get why there's no legal pressure on them - yet.

[Dietrichw]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3839/intel-settles-with-the-ftc

Doesn't really matter now. Intel settled with the FTC and AMD

[exyia]

the court case was settled months ago and people are STILL trying to stir up crap about this?

 

how about focus on what AMD is doing NOW for a change (or rather, not doing...../cricket)

[Likwid]

As much as I can remember Intel had to pay 1B fine

[Tenelia]

None of that is new. All of the case files are available in legal archives in USA and Europe. Even Taiwan has case files.

 

News flash: Intel will still get away scot-free even after being charged and fined. Same for Nvidia.

[Clyne]

Yeah well Intel also made fake benchmarks for the P4 too and got fined for that. Wasn't it obvious that netburst was a total fail compared to the Athlon.

[patrickjp93]

The part about Larrabee is complete crock. It did absolutely nothing to hurt GPGPU with any advertising. Intel hyped itself up until Nvidia yanked some of its licenses and forced a total restructuring. Now Intel's Xeon Phi. The rest of this is well known already, though the portion about the compiler is greatly exaggerated. Intel had the information about not optimizing on non-Intel processors in the documentation. It certainly didn't force Cinebench owners to use its compiler either and no proof of coercion to the same effect has been found. This is mainly a rehashing of what we already knew Paul Otellini did eleven years. What's Intel done since Kirzanich stepped up to be anticompetitive?