AMD, which has battled Intel since the 1980s in the market for microprocessors, four years ago announced a deal to pay a whopping $5.4 billion for ATI Technologies. The deal saddled AMD with a crushing debt load, but it also provided two new weapons: graphics chips–the complex processors that make videogames look realistic–and accessory products called chip sets that connect a microprocessor to the rest of a system.
AMD CEO Dirk Meyer and other executives argue that both are crucial to competing with Intel, which sells complete technology platforms to computer makers that consist of a microprocessor and a chip set. Intel’s chip sets often include graphics as a built-in feature. Such “integrated” graphics can’t match the performance of stand-alone graphics chips, but are good enough for many applications–and are particularly popular to help hold down the size, price and power consumption of laptop computers. LINK
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