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Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Is AMD GAME! anything more than another marketing stunt?

By | May 19, 2008, 3:03am PDT

Summary: Let me introduce you to AMD’s latest plan to grab back some market share from Intel and NVIDIA - AMD GAME.

Let me introduce you to AMD’s latest plan to grab back some market share from Intel and NVIDIA - AMD GAME.

AMD GAMESo what is AMD GAME? Well, guess what, it’s another badging scheme designed to direct consumers “to solutions that are specifically validated for gaming,” according to Brent Berry, product marketing manager for AMD.

“Consumers are not getting a great gaming experience with IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor),” Berry added.

“In North America, about 60 percent of consumers say they plan on using their PCs for video games,” said Berry. “But when you do a check on what people actually did on their PCs, you find out that 80 percent actually played games on their PCs.”

There will be two categories of AMD GAME PC:

AMD GAME!

Minimum system requirements:

  • AMD Athlon X2 5600+ processor
  • ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics card
  • AMD 770 or NVIDIA nForce 500 chipset

AMD GAME! Ultra

Minimum system requirements:

  • AMD Phenom X4 9650 processor
  • ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics card
  • AMD 770 chipset

But is AMD GAME! anything more than another marketing stunt? I find it hard to look at it as anything else. I like the idea of some system to help make gaming easier for the consumer (although maybe we have that already in the shape of games consoles) but another branding system isn’t going to help. Intel’s Viiv and Microsoft’s WEI haven’t done much to lift the fog surrounding consumers, and I doubt that AMD GAME will achieve much either.

Thoughts?

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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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RE: Is AMD GAME! anything more than another marketing stunt?
integrators@... 20th May 2008
Great another proprietary architecture.
When will manufacturers get the idea through their heads that people don't want the latest and greatest all the time, they just want something that works great and is stable (how good is the cutting edge when it doesn't work properly?)
Why do we constantly have to trade off stability and compatibility just to gain a little more performance.
MS is getting the idea rammed down their throat with Vista and the fact the most businesses would rather stay with XP than adopt a whole slew of new problems to work out.
It would be nice for a change to see some B2B collaborating in order to provide consumers and business with something that really works well rather than something that merely works most of the time.
0 Votes
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AMD Game? Marketing stunt indeed
UNSRM 19th May 2008
AMD is in trouble Adrian, you've got to expect them to try all they can. Attacking the casual consumer is probably their best option, since the vast majority of hard core gamers have deserted them for Intel and/or Nvidia chips.
0 Votes
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I like the idea ...
johnfenjackson@... 19th May 2008
... or rather a similar idea - one piece is currently missing from the puzzle.

After all the crap M$ and NVIDIA have put us through with VISTA and DX10 I would like these guys to get their arses in gear ( I think you say 'ducks in a row' in the USA ;-)). Looking at the App?e platform, the App?e AIR (special CPU) and the idea that a tight-knit set of components can produce a 'better overall experience' I propose:

- instead of NVIDIA and M$ failing to align for a new OS release they work very closely together on a special combination

- NVIDIA do the hardware side
- M$ do the software side
- the combination is guaranteed 'on pain of death' to be bulletproof and fast, I mean FAST (I do NOT mean shaft your partner on release date or change your mind because you screw up cf VISTA CAPABLE)
- the OS and applications cooperate on the use of the GPU's stream processors like readyboost tries to make use of RAM (I do NOT mean 'oh the user is drawing a box, stop all GPU threads cf VISTA audio playback halts network bug')
- get DX11 right

This would blow App?e and INTEL out of the water. Hell, customers might even go "WOW! I had forgotten these guys understood the words PROJECT MANAGEMENT and COLLABORATION'!

Of course detractors would all say 'copied App?e again' to which the reply would be 'yeh, 10 times faster and 1/2 the cost' ... and customers would say 'I want NOW'.
0 Votes
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.... or ...
johnfenjackson@... 19th May 2008
... M$ + AMD/ATI could do even more with the processor, chipset, GPU and OS.
Is Adrian anything more than a marketing ploy by ZDNet to replace George Ou?
0 Votes
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Of course its marketing
No_Ax_to_Grind 19th May 2008
Thats what all companies do...
0 Votes
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just make the CPUs work
coffeeshark 19th May 2008
AMD needs to get their CPUs out on time and working, rather than spending time with another code-name initiative like LIVE or Viiv or other four-letter words that mean nothing to the consumer.

"Oh, but it's AMD GAME approved!"

Yeah, no one cares. You'd be better off with a "plays Crysis at 20+ fps" sticker.
0 Votes
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finally
vi0l3t1975@... 19th May 2008
now i can refer customers to what the manufactures consider as a base games machine.
some consumers think that you are trying to scam them into paying for hardware that they dont need and buy a low spec machine, and several days later i normally get a call about the games not playing very well.
There is no difference really in temp it is the vid card memory and voltage. My Monster here is cool and pumps 63 C* Remote fron the vid card.
0 Votes
+ -
Great another proprietary architecture.
When will manufacturers get the idea through their heads that people don't want the latest and greatest all the time, they just want something that works great and is stable (how good is the cutting edge when it doesn't work properly?)
Why do we constantly have to trade off stability and compatibility just to gain a little more performance.
MS is getting the idea rammed down their throat with Vista and the fact the most businesses would rather stay with XP than adopt a whole slew of new problems to work out.
It would be nice for a change to see some B2B collaborating in order to provide consumers and business with something that really works well rather than something that merely works most of the time.

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