Match made in heaven?

weekly roundup Both AMD and ATI have been underdogs in the processor and graphics cards markets at one point or another. But in recent years, both have managed to overcome the odds to give their bigger rivals a run for their money, with better technology at cheaper prices.

At first, it may seem that there's very little synergy between the two companies, since both are involved in different aspects of the silicon business. In fact, financial analysts are still pondering over the viability of the deal.

But if you look under the hood, the gradual shift toward a more graphics-intensive computing environment brought about by new operating systems such as Windows Vista, helps to make sense out of the AMD-ATI marriage.

AMD has already achieved an industry first by integrating the memory controller in its Athlon 64, FX, and Opteron processors, significantly reducing memory bottlenecks and boosting performance. What's there to stop the company from coming up with a multi-core chip, in which one or two cores can be dedicated to processing graphics?

Furthermore, the deal would also bolster AMD's chances of beating Intel in the graphics game. While the latter supplies the most number of integrated graphics chipsets used in PC motherboards, Intel's offerings are minnows compared to ATI's graphics prowess.

Let's toast the couple and wish them success.

In other news headlines this week, read about Singapore's first fiber-to-the-home trials, why Asian companies are fueling the demand for network outsourcing, and how India's outsourcing fortunes might be threatened by rising salaries.