some nice comments
I came across some nice comments at AnandTech on some random
nvidia driver story. just wanted to share with everyone.
RE: Nvidia bloatware by TA152H, 2 days ago
You don't think Nvidia's been knocked down to their knees already?
Show me someone that owns Nvidia stock, and I'll show you an idiot. With Intel about to enter the GPU fray, their life is going to get a lot more difficult, and soon. More than that Intel despises them, for their obnoxious advertising and is going after them pretty aggressively now. They were much better off staying under their radar.
The reality is, with the processors getting more and more built into them (memory interface, for example, and soon the GPU), what can be added outside of it becomes less, and that's where Nvidia survives. Since ATI makes a very competitive, if not generally better, GPU right now, it's even worse for them.
Once Intel enters the scene, it's going to be ugly. They are an EXTREMELY formidable company when they make up their minds to compete in a market, not only because their design resources dwarf what is available to their competitors, but also because their manufacturing technology is much better than anything Nvidia or AMD can even approach. Couple that with their software prowess (greatly underestimated), and their greater ability to support their products, and induce other companies to use them with cash incentives, and you're whistling past the graveyard when they have you in their cross-hairs.
I'm not saying Larrabee is going to be the greatest thing since Cheddar Cheese, but that's the whole point. It doesn't have to be. They are so much better with the things that surround it, that the design gets a lot of help. On top of this, even if it's not, the fact that Intel has entered the market very aggressively, and is taking it much more seriously means that whether this product is good or not, they will keep working on it, and they'll almost certainly get it right.
On top of this, Nvidia's reputation has taken a beating with their faulty/defective products lately.
Because AMD already makes CPUs, they can match Intel with regards to synergy between the two (for example, moving them on die), but Nvidia is out in the cold. I wouldn't use their stock to wrap fish with. But, I've always hated the company for the same reasons you do, and only once bought a card based on their technology (and was irritated by it, and will never buy another again).
RE: Nvidia bloatware by garydale, 2 days ago
Intel entered the graphics arena a long time ago but have yet to do anything significant. Basically, Intel graphics run a couple of generations behind what NVidia and ATI put out, even comparing apples to apples on the integrated GPU front.
Can Intel catch up? Possibly, but its not a given. Let's face it, developing a top-notch GPU is difficult. I for one welcome their efforts because having a third major player has got to make for even fiercer competition. However, I think it'll be a while before they get out of the basement and between now and then business plans can change.
RE: Nvidia bloatware by aj28, 1 days ago
I would go so far as to doubt that Intel's presence in the GPU market will even increase competition in the mainstream. Larrabee is an entirely different beast than cards on the market right now, and will undoubtedly cater to a niche market. Personally the only chunk of the graphics pie I can see Intel even having a chance at is high-end workstations, where their name alone will turn the heads of large corporations regardless of performance, and X86 technology might just be seriously adopted.
RE: Nvidia bloatware by TA152H, 1 days ago
Thanks for your response, now I understand why people still own Nvidia stock, but I'll tell you why I disagree with it.
Intel never entered the high performance graphics market, even after they ate up Real3D and came out with the i740. The point of these GPUs was to help make the platform better, and to leave the high end stuff to Nvidia, 3DFX, ATI, etc... Clearly, they saw the need to at least offer chipsets with 3D accelerators, and have dominated the market ever since. Clearly, the market they targetted they were very successful in, and for that reason I wouldn't use their history as an indictment against their success, but an example of it.
Now their target is a different market, and a market they had left alone. It's not a second attempt at this market, after a failure, it's a first. And, maybe it will miss the mark. Maybe it will not meet expectations. Maybe it will be late and by the time it comes out, be obsolete when compared to its competitors. Even in these cases, it won't be the last word on it. They'll come out with another one, and another, and they do have a lot of smart people there, that do learn. With all their advantages, particularly with manufacturing, it's so difficult to imagine them never being able to compete with a weak company like Nvidia, that doesn't even make a processor. A single die GPU/Processor has some nice advantages, not the least of which is communication between the two is much faster, and splitting instructions should be a lot more efficient. It's just not something Nvidia has the option to do, but both AMD and Intel clearly feel there's a lot of good in it.
As far as the Larrabee being a niche product, since when does Intel target niches? I don't think they'd spend so much time and money developing it for a niche market. Of course, not everything goes as planned, so it's possible, but it's clearly not what they're targeting, and should it fall into this role, that certainly doesn't mean the successor will. It's not like the Itanium, where you have to rewrite a program, or operating system to run on it to give it support. If the product is good, and Intel gets the drivers right, it's going to sell well. They've got everything covered extraordinarily well.
Bet against Intel at your own peril. They do make mistakes, but, invariably, they recover from them. If you think it's a good idea to assume they'll always screw up, you should apply to AMD for a job. But, can they afford to hire anymore? Hmmm, I wonder why not? It's not JUST the economy.
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Re: some nice comments
