On: Microsoft might be interested in buying AMD

[nimos]

Their market cap is less than what Microsoft paid for Minecraft. Although they have another 2b in debt... I thought the x86 cross-license agreement prevented this though?

[theandrewbailey → nimos]

You mean the x86 deal they have with Intel? Intel tried to sue AMD when AMD spun off their chip fabs into Global Foundries, but Intel lost. Besides, AMD has a gun to Intel, due to Intel's AMD64 (64-bit x86) license with AMD. Destroying AMD's ability to produce x86 chips might make them retaliate.

Edit: ...or renegotiate. Having AMD producing x86 CPUs significantly reduces government antitrust attention towards Intel.

[_3u10 → theandrewbailey]

The flip side is that with MS as sole client, they could only make AMD64 chips which would mean that intel would have to stop producing x64 chips.

If you don't need 386 compat the cross licensing deal becomes a gun pointed at Intel's head.

[theandrewbailey → _3u10]

Except that won't work. 386 compatibility is required, since AMD64 is an extension to it, not a replacement. One needs an x86 foundation to build a workable AMD64 CPU upon.

[drsim → nimos]

evidently not: http://www.kitguru.net/components/cpu/anton-shilov/amd-clari...