AMD claims that after doing some extensive surveys of a worldwide “discrete graphics aware” audience they found a few interesting points that indicated permission from the community to make this move:
- AMD preference tripled when the respondent was aware of the ATI-AMD merger
- AMD brand was stronger than ATI brand when compared to graphics competitors
- Radeon and FirePro brands were already considerably known on their own
The new generation of GPUs will be called “AMD Radeon Graphics” while the currently existing products will continue to hold their ATI nomenclature until their own untimely demise.
Also interesting is the branding that omits the “AMD” brand; that will be used for OEMs that are sensitive to putting both an Intel CPU and AMD GPU logo on the same machine. Honestly though, this will likely prevent some confusion for the average consumer.
As 2011 nears you can see that AMD is taking a big step forward in reducing its branding and logo systems going from 18 in 2009 to 7. Obviously I wouldn’t place bets on us not seeing additional logos in the coming months as new processors Fusion technologies are introduced, but it’s a start.
A big part of this consolidation is also based on the move to the hybrid CPU/GPU chips that AMD calls “Fusion” as it consolidates all the companies technologies one brand AND one processor. AMD is betting the farm on its Fusion technology and the branding aspect is just one of many internal indications of this dramatic shift.
In the end, I think some people will blow this pronouncement out of proportion and it is overall a good move for the company going forward. But, I must admit, I weep a single tear as I post this logo for perhaps the last time:
I too am sad after growing up
I too am sad after growing up with ATi, but my grief would have come with the buyout, had I already not been a full blooded AMD fan. I honestly feel the same as the author, it’s a shame to see it go, but the only sadness comes from nostalgia. AMD has taken the Radeon and ran with it, they did not let it stagnate, they did not let it phase out. They did right by ATi and for that I have no issue with letting them put the name out to pasture.
Personally I will still rock the ATi logo with gusto, it is on ALL my machines and will be until I run out of stickers. Hell I’ll print my own if I have to.
But that doesn’t mean there will only be room for ATi, there will be a big AMD sticker too. As I pull 500+ FPS in brand new games, I want people to look over and see that I *don’t* have intel or nvidia.
Then again, as a builder of PC’s for friends/clients, I have refused to put intel or nvidia in my machines for years. Simple question, You want performance right? You want top of the line right? You don’t want to spend over $1000 right? Okay, well I can give you all 3 with AMD/ATi.
As a benefit I can now just say AMD. If it boils down to it, with the less computer literate, I can just tell them that AMD processors are designed to work with AMD graphics (which to some small extent is true).