Happy Birthday ATI! . . . ATI celebrates 20 years

[apoppin]

ATi's "history" from the Inq

ARRAY TECHNOLOGY INC, the company much more known as ATI, is ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary. This company is producing graphic things for girls and guys for twenty years now.

Its founder, K.Y. Ho, is still the chairman of the company and company now is driven by Dave Orton, the founder of the ARTX Company that ATI bought back in 2000. Dave is an interesting leader and a CEO that actually cares to talk to journos, not something that you will find common in this industry. Not that we blame them.

The company changed and grew over the years and had been a leader in graphic before the 3D era than lost its crown to S3 and later 3DFX and Nvidia. However, it managed to get back in the game with its R300, Radeon 9700 series of cards.

Before 3D era ATI was the pure leader in 2D card design and was fighting many companies such as Matrox and S3 but didn't listen to the market and jumped too late on the 3D bandwagon.

In the spooky times of R300 development ATIs had its last chance to do something and take Nvidia over in 3D high end market. It was running out of money and ATI had to put most of the money from the bank in this chip development. Stakes were high but if ATI failed in this effort company would had to end its career and someone would buy. It could live the destiny of 3DFX. Luckily for the industry R300, Radeon 9700 was good chip and ATI made some serious money with this chip and later with Radeon 9500 series. The Company got back in the game and luckily for ATI, Nvidia failed to deliver wondrous NV30 chip. ATI started climbing even since and is giving Nvidia hard time to run for its money.

ATI continued to fight Nvidia with very successful series and ATI has never been stronger than now. Its R420, R430, R480, R410, RV370 are selling good and companies mobile business has never been better. It has new range of AGP chips to put even more pressure on Nvidia. ATI holds more than 60 percent of laptop discrete graphic; it's getting in action with its chipset business and has strong customers such as Motorola for its mobile telephones business. The company managed to make a very important strategic deal with Qualcomm one of the biggest players in mobile phones business. It has to go in many directions to keep its investors happy.

ATI is growing constantly; it acquired well known FireGL workstation graphic business but it still hasn't managed to get in big stile at this market. The Company needs to get a product with 32 bit floating point precision and better workstation driver and it will be good to go to fight in this arena as well. R520, codenamed Fudo will bring such a thing in just couple of months. Company is preparing its ATI Multi Rendering, SLI marchitecture ready to fight Nvidia as well. This should happen rather sooner than later.

ATI is also very strong in set top box market and multimedia market as company is earning some significant revenues from those businesses as well.

The company entered console business with Nintendo deal and now plans to expand it with upcoming XboX 2 deal, Microsoft works closely with ATI on Avalon graphic interface for Longhorn and partnership with Microsoft has never been stronger.

Now with revenues over 2 billion dollars and more than 2200 employees company stands dedicated to continue its eternal fight with Nvidia. Good luck to you girls and boys and we wish you to have a happy 20 years anniversary. We hope that we will be welcome on your 30th anniversary as well. And so ends the history of the world according to Fudo. µ

i didn't quite realize that ati bet the bank on r300 when the chips were down 😉
:roll:

😀

 

[larry89]

Reading It kinda gives you a feeling of astonishment and power and it makes you want to give someone a high five lol

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

 

[VirtualLarry]

You should read about the early days of NV, and the NV-1 GPU that they built. Their first product almost killed the company too.

 

[Bar81]

Nice link and very interesting. Got a link to the history of nvidia?

 

[Malak]

Squaresoft was going bankrupt when they did Final Fantasy.

 

[Bar81]

Originally posted by: malak
Squaresoft was going bankrupt when they did Final Fantasy.

Dammit. It was that close, too bad it didn't happen.

 

[beatle]

Originally posted by: Bar81

Originally posted by: malak
Squaresoft was going bankrupt when they did Final Fantasy.

Dammit. It was that close, too bad it didn't happen.

Sounds like someone drank too many Haterade megalixirs.

 

[Bar81]

Or someone has a clue as to what constitutes a quality game 😛

 

[BFG10K]

I have a hard time believing ATi almost went out of business given they're always had a strong OEM/integrated video presence.

 

[slash196]

I read the topic sub-title as "ATI went out of buisness almost 3 years ago!" Weird....

 

[jim1976]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I have a hard time believing ATi almost went out of business given they're always had a strong OEM/integrated video presence.

So true BFG,so true... Who knows? Maybe INQ BS again?😀

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: jim1976

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I have a hard time believing ATi almost went out of business given they're always had a strong OEM/integrated video presence.

So true BFG,so true... Who knows? Maybe INQ BS again?😀

the inq has been spot-on re: ati the last couple of years . . . . their insider is very good . . .

i knew ati was having a very hard time after their (very good) r8500 was eclipsed by the GF4ti series . . . . i just didn't realize it was 'do-or-die' for them and the r300/9700seroes.

looking back it was a very good gamble that completely blindsided (the then extremely arrogant) nVidia . . . . i'm glad to have two strong competitors in high-end gfx 🙂

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: apoppin
i'm glad to have two strong competitors in high-end gfx 🙂

I couldn't agree more. Without the strong competition between ATi, and nVidia, we'd all be paying three times as much for half the performance.

 

[bjc112]

I personally think the Radeon 8500 saved them.. If that card would have went the wrong.. Look out..

The the Geforce 3 was a huge success, and ATi really got their drivers working well around that release..

The 9700 really put them where they needed to be as well.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bjc112
I personally think the Radeon 8500 saved them.. If that card would have went the wrong.. Look out..

The the Geforce 3 was a huge success, and ATi really got their drivers working well around that release..

The 9700 really put them where they needed to be as well.

actually, that's what i thought, before this article . . . .

evidently the 8500 as not that strong of a commercial success as it was plagued by seriously crap drivers at launch and for the next few months . . . the Ti4200 originally shamed the r8500 and it took well over 6 months for a decent set of drivers for 8500.

i think 8500 was a moral victory for ati . . . . they really did produce a very nice GPU and ultimately a very nice driver set, the Catalysts* - compared to the Radeon MAXX POS - for which they NEVER could get working drivers for Win2K.

However, the 9700 series was a real surprise . . . . it unbalanced nVidia who produced their infamous DustBuster as an "answer" and the rest is recent .

*Edit . . . . didn't the Cats come before the 9700?
memory . . . fading . . . .😱

 

[jiffylube1024]

Interesting read - I didn't know ATI was so close to the edge either. Is it just me or did that article seem like its author had English as a second (or third) language. Every other sentence has an error in it.

Originally posted by: Bar81

Originally posted by: malak
Squaresoft was going bankrupt when they did Final Fantasy.

Dammit. It was that close, too bad it didn't happen.

I knew your replies were a little harsh, hard-headed and opinionated in the dual DVI thread, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Now I know your secret 😉 .

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: apoppin
i think 8500 was a moral victory for ati . . . . they really did produce a very nice GPU and ultimately a very nice driver set, the Catalysts* - compared to the Radeon MAXX POS - for which they NEVER could get working drivers for Win2K.

For the record, the "Maxx" used twin Rage128 GPUs, not Radeons. That's probably one reason why ATI never released W2K drivers for the Maxx, because internally, they were focusing nearly all of their internal driver-development resources on the upcoming Radeon GPU release. By the time that the revised Radeon 8500 GPUs were released, they had finally honed their newly-unified driver-set to actually be competitive as far as driver quality/features/performance went in games and in video apps.

Originally posted by: apoppin
*Edit . . . . didn't the Cats come before the 9700?
memory . . . fading . . . .😱

I don't remember myself. I don't think that the 6.xx Radeon drivers were called Catalyst, I think the Cats came after the initial Radeon release.. but I'm not certain either.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: apoppin
i think 8500 was a moral victory for ati . . . . they really did produce a very nice GPU and ultimately a very nice driver set, the Catalysts* - compared to the Radeon MAXX POS - for which they NEVER could get working drivers for Win2K.

For the record, the "Maxx" used twin Rage128 GPUs, not Radeons. That's probably one reason why ATI never released W2K drivers for the Maxx, because internally, they were focusing nearly all of their internal driver-development resources on the upcoming Radeon GPU release. By the time that the revised Radeon 8500 GPUs were released, they had finally honed their newly-unified driver-set to actually be competitive as far as driver quality/features/performance went in games and in video apps.

Originally posted by: apoppin
*Edit . . . . didn't the Cats come before the 9700?
memory . . . fading . . . .😱

I don't remember myself. I don't think that the 6.xx Radeon drivers were called Catalyst, I think the Cats came after the initial Radeon release.. but I'm not certain either.

Yes, the Maxx based on the Rage chipset (i had a Rage Fury 32) . . . . what you are leaving out is that ati PROMISED driver support for the MAXX . . . . they embittered a LOT of their customers and gave them the reputation of crappy drivers for several years (until 9700).

Yes, the 8500 was a fine chipset (i upgraded to a Radeon 8500-128MB from my Radeon 64ddr) BUT it's driver support was CRAP for the first 6 months when the Ti4200 overtook the 8500 and never looked back (although at the end is was very close performance).

Ati has come a long way . . . . from the top in 2D to almost dead to on top in 3D and . . . . now hanging on competitively . . . and soon r520 . . . .

 

[housecat]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I have a hard time believing ATi almost went out of business given they're always had a strong OEM/integrated video presence.

Ditto.
This company was all over in the 80s as well.
They have as good as niche as Matrox does.. and Matrox doenst make performance cards. G450 wasnt that bad, but just because stuff like that is gone doenst mean they are "out of business".
And as far as I knew, ATI didnt engineer the bulk of R300, ArtX did.

 

[Rent]

Originally posted by: housecat

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I have a hard time believing ATi almost went out of business given they're always had a strong OEM/integrated video presence.

Ditto.
This company was all over in the 80s as well.
They have as good as niche as Matrox does.. and Matrox doenst make performance cards. G450 wasnt that bad, but just because stuff like that is gone doenst mean they are "out of business".
And as far as I knew, ATI didnt engineer the bulk of R300, ArtX did.

Don't let out ATI's dirty secrets! 😉

Their reputation for crap drivers goes WAY back beyond the Rage MAXX. Their early drivers for 3d accelerators were a complete joke.

I hope they keep putting out good chips, nVidia needs competition.

 

[CHfan4ever]

Thanks you ati for your great 9600 pro, 9700 pro and 9800 pro!!

Now if you can one day learn how to do digital vibrance i might switch back to you guys!!!! 😉

 

[rbV5]

Happy Bday ATI! :beer:

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rent

Originally posted by: housecat

Originally posted by: BFG10K
I have a hard time believing ATi almost went out of business given they're always had a strong OEM/integrated video presence.

Ditto.
This company was all over in the 80s as well.
They have as good as niche as Matrox does.. and Matrox doenst make performance cards. G450 wasnt that bad, but just because stuff like that is gone doenst mean they are "out of business".
And as far as I knew, ATI didnt engineer the bulk of R300, ArtX did.

Don't let out ATI's dirty secrets! 😉

Their reputation for crap drivers goes WAY back beyond the Rage MAXX. Their early drivers for 3d accelerators were a complete joke.

I hope they keep putting out good chips, nVidia needs competition.

strange the Inq didn't mention ati's "lost-in-driver-hell" period . . . .😛
:roll:

of course i knew their mainstream gfx . . . ho hum (nice 2d)

i really liked and bought the Rage Fury32 as a rather innovative GPU - the drivers finally worked awesome long after the card was usefull but the IQ was always top notch, close to Matrox'. . . . i suffered thru ati's rebirth into performance 3d gfx - always citing IQ over GeForce' brute processing power (and to-be-fair they were always sufficient for the latest current games during the time i had them) 😉

. . . . then i broke down and traded a CPU for a GeForce256 😱
(that didn't last long . . . it ran 'fast' but looked 'washed out') 😛

. . . got the 64ddr Radeon and finally ati got better 'on time' drivers (with 'quirks' in specific games, but damn that card lasted me over 2 years) :thumbsup:
. . . then i got the r8500 when it was cheap (~$125 a year after launch and about the time the drivers performance closed the gap with the ti4200
. . . and finally a new 9800xt for $223 last Spring that i enjoy thoroughly with ZERO driver problems, always play the lattest games with everything 'on' (at 'my' res) with no problems (unless you count HL2's 'stutter' . . . . did they ever fix that damn annoyance on saving?).

that is MY (abbv.) history with ATI 😕:disgust::brokenheart: :evil:

:heart:

. . . . may there be (at least) 20 more happy years (for all of us) 🙂
g'nite

:thumbsup:

 

[housecat]

Me? Let out ATIs dirty secrets?? 😉 Never!

Originally posted by: apoppin
. . . and finally a new 9800xt for $223 last Spring that i enjoy thoroughly with ZERO driver problems, always play the lattest games with everything 'on' (at 'my' res) with no problems (unless you count HL2's 'stutter' . . . . did they ever fix that damn annoyance on saving?).

By the time the XTs were out they'd stamped out pretty good drivers.
I wasnt totally satisfied with my 9800 Pro, and ended up selling it. For a while there, they had some unacceptable issues with a simple OGL game based on the Q3A engine (might have heard of it, COD?) 😉

I figured since the 9800 Pro was a newer, faster 9700 Pro (and by then all the driver issues had been worked out) but I was still kinda PO'd.

Gotta consider that all they needed to do was little more than add another line to recognize their new cards when releasing the 9800Pro/9800XT/X800/X850..
been skatin for a long, long time now and been getting alot of easy fanfare the whole time.

I'm eager to see how this new cores drivers do. 🙂 My prediction: possibly another "blunder". Its not uncommon on truley new hardware for ATI stumble a bit on the software end.

I just hope they have the ArtX engineers still at ATI.. and got more than just the intellectual property.
We'll see soon enough...

 

[Megatomic]

20 years? Wow, my history with ATI only goes back about 10 years. I had a 2MB PCI Rage card, I liked it quite a lot and actually bought a 2MB expansion card for it from ATI directly. For the time, that card was screaming.