AMD and Anti-Competitive Practices

Today I was thumbing through the news and noticed something. The spin put on about Palit leaving AMD and going back to being an nVidia only shop. Yes there were quite a few articles about it. Some even touched on why, but none talked about or really even mentioned what it means in reality.

Simply put if AMD/ATi is controlling what partners can do with the GPUs they purchase, and allowing other partners preferential treatment it makes AMD just as shady as Intel. It also goes a long way to explaining why someone would want to use Intel or nVidia over AMD/ATi. Here were all of these Intel bashing articles over the EU fine and Intel’s shady business practices and not one talking about the ramifications of having a partner cut off from buying chips because they wanted to make a non-reference design.

So I guess I will be the first to put it in plain English; the conduct of AMD towards Palit and Gainward is anti-competitive, Period. It represents a desire for AMD to stifle competition at the AIB level and limit consumer choice.

For example:
AMD sells GPUs to company A and B
Company A is a preferred partner (possibly with better pricing)
Company B is not.

Company B wants to make its own PCB and non-reference cooler and overclocked design. AMD tells them they cannot do this until Company A has their own non-reference design out. They further go on to say that if Company B does make one, they [AMD] will not sell them any more GPUs.

This robs the consumer of choice, prevents innovation in the market place and limits fair and open competition. Something that Poor put upon AMD claims to want from Intel. Although at the time of writing the allegations that AMD is participating in this practice are unconfirmed if it is found out that AMD is doing this something should be done about this in the same way and they [AMD] went after Intel. In the past 12 hours, we learned of several consumer investigations into AMD and their branding schemes, and you can be sure we will cover those investigations too.

Intel is shady, yes.. they have been very dirty in their business dealings but AMD is no white knight either. We all love the underdog, that’s for sure. But the time has come that someone said/did something about it instead of just sloshing down the AMD Koolaid.

Original Author: Sean Kalinich