NVIDIA to Acquire ULi Electronics, a Leading Developer of Core Logic Technology

[Keysplayr]

Wasn't it said at some point that ATI was actually putting pressure on motherboard makers to still use the ATi southbridge even though it has issues? (Not clear on what the issues were, but mobo makers were very hesitant to use them). And some mobo manufacturers told ATi to screw off, and used ULi anyways.? Anyone here something similar about 4 months ago? -ish???

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: crazydingo

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
What's funny about the last comment? I think that is terrific! It means ATI will still get the southbridges they need right? The only thing that worries me is the "foreseeable future" comment. That could change in a heartbeat.

Anyways, no idea why you're laughing, care to share the joke? -Cheers

The joke (quote) was meant to be subtle.

Real subtle.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Sounds like a good move for Nividia - their Nforce line is already a market leader; getting some more brains and technology under their belt can only help (just like the 3dfx acquisition yielded Nvidia SLI). Nvidia's done a great job cherry picking a few companies at the perfect time.

Of course a hybrid Nvidia AGP/PCI-e solution would probably be a "too little, too late" proposition since the market has been in a transition to PCI-e for the past year at least, but just the added experience of ALi/ULi engineers should be a boon for the future.

-------------
It's good to see the usual trolls bringing ATI into this discussion for no reason other than to take their requisite pot-shots; no wonder the previous thread got locked.

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: Creig
You need to use the quote function better. You're making it hard to pick out my reponses from yours.

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: Creig
I'm not really sure what pre-NV30/post-NV30 has to do with anything. ATI/Nvidia both trash talk each other and use misleading information to sway the public to purchase their products. It's unfortunate, but it's the way they operate.

Actually it is relevant. As I said before pre NV30/R300 ATi may as well have not existed as far as nVidia were concerned. Apart from QUAK (which was fact) I can't bring to mind much direct conflict between the two. Certainly nothing like what ATi & co. came out with post NV30/R300.

So the infamous Nvidia 3DMark driver cheating doesn't count? And Nv has put out just as much FUD post NV30/R300 as ATI has.

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: Creig
There have also been people who have been less than flattering about ATI WITHOUT good reason. Nvidia has had their share of blunders and detractors as well. I'm not really sure where you're going with this.

The point was, most anti-ATi sentiment pre NV30/R300 came from the public, not nVidia or anyone else and it WAS richly deserved at the time (driver quality alone).

Yes, ATI had poor drivers in those days and weren't really in the same league with Nvidia. That was years ago. What does that have to do with what's happening today?

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: Creig
Such as?

Gee, where do I start? ATi's Tech TV segment where they claimed the 9700 series could/would use DDR-II? I could go and on and on, but I've listed ATi's lies many times in the past on various forums, you can go find them for yourself.

I was under the impression that they were simply showcasing how a card with faster memory would perform compared to standard DDR memory and never said they would actually be releasing a DDR-II based card. At the time, they were working with memory manufacturers on finalizing GDDR3 specs and were demonstrating the advantages of faster memory.

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: Creig

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
So, far as I can see (even as far back as PowerVR, nVidias comments have been based on fact, not fiction.

So Nvidia NEVER publishes inaccurate or misleading information? NV40/45 PVP functionality anybody?

nVidia stated very early on there was a problem with PVP functionality and they were working on it. (I could be wrong here, but I don't believe they said they definitely would fix the problem, only that they would attempt to fix it). The only people who really care about PVP playbackon NV40/45 are fanatics anyhow, looking for a horse to beat...

Actually, nvidia advertised full PVP functionality and then quietly deleted the portion referring to NV40/NV45 WMV9 acceleration from the website without admitting that ANYTHING was wrong. This attempt to simply sweep the issue under the rug is what caused such an uproar.

NV4x's Video Processor - What Happened?

NVIDIA originally told us [Anandtech] that they would have a driver which could take advantage of the processor 2 weeks after the launch of the GeForce 6800 Ultra. We even pressured NVIDIA to work on getting support for the Video Processor in the DiVX codec, since it's quite popular with our readers. The launch came and went, as did the two weeks with nothing from NVIDIA.

I [Anand Lal Shimpi] personally emailed NVIDIA every other week from May until August asking for an update, with no official or unofficial response as to why nothing had happened with the illustrious Video Processor. Finally, when 23 out of the 35 slides of the NVIDIA press presentation about the GeForce 6200 featured the GPU's "Video Processor", I had had enough. It was only then that NVIDIA came clean about the current state of the Video Processor.

As of the publication of this article [October 11, 2004], NVIDIA still has not answered our questions of whether or not there is any hardware encoding acceleration as was originally promised with NV40. So, the feature set of the Video Processor on NV40 (the GeForce 6800) was incomplete, only in its support for WMV9 acceleration (arguably the most important feature of it).

Nvidia did NOT state early on that there was something wrong with the PVP and apparently it's not just ATI fanatics who care about WMV9 acceleration.



I still fail to see how this is somehow "sweet payback for all the garbage ATi has hurled nVidia's way over the years" and that "ATi has brought this upon itself". Neither company is perfect and they've both had their ups and downs.

Sounds like nothing but fanboy talk to me.

Your dodging and weaving won't get you anywhere, Creig, like the fanATic in the cartoon, you can bury your head in the sand over ATi's past actions all that you like- it won't alter what happened. Fortunately for us and unfortuanately for you the past can't be changed.

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts). In other words 99.999% of all available content will work (except for a propietary codec that so far as I am aware only has one or two demonstration clips available to view in the first place). Who gives a damn? certainly not me, and I actually OWN an nV40. I also happen to do my movie watching on a DVD player and Television...

Not all are as blind as you when it comes to ATi. You may recall this post by Ratchet over at Rage3d.

 

[SynthDude2001]

I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I'm not that familiar with ULi's past products, but their current m1695/1567 chipset with AGP and PCI-E is great. I have a feeling they (ULi) may end up being a "one hit wonder", so to speak - Nvidia almost certainly isn't going to care about providing any such upgrade paths for AGP users...they make more money if people buy new NF4 motherboards. I suppose it's good that Nvidia is acquiring more talented engineers, but at the same time, their recent chipsets (since nForce2) have already been quite good, so I'm not sure how much they'll benefit overall.

 

[rbV5]

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

 

[Killrose]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Could we be seeing Nforce5 chipset that can do both AGP AND PCi-e? For those people with an AGP card, transistion to PCI-e is no problem, just buy this mother board, and maybe later on spend money on your new GFX card. This would be pretty damn awesome.

The last thing nVidia wants is for anyone to be able to use an AGP video card. "Buy new, Buy nVidia" is the new monicker. Or wait, maybe it's: "Buy new, x2, Buy nVidia"

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: Killrose

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Could we be seeing Nforce5 chipset that can do both AGP AND PCi-e? For those people with an AGP card, transistion to PCI-e is no problem, just buy this mother board, and maybe later on spend money on your new GFX card. This would be pretty damn awesome.

The last thing nVidia wants is for anyone to be able to use an AGP video card. "Buy new, Buy nVidia" is the new monicker. Or wait, maybe it's: "Buy new, x2, Buy nVidia"

Really? I guess that why there is a 68800GS AGP in the pipelinethen? Not to mention all of nVidia's current AGP products?

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

meh...I would have liked it very much if my 6800GT could have accelerated video encoding. Some people like to get the most out of a $350+ purchase...

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

I'm sure the general population didn't give a rats arse about SM3.0 last year, either.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: 5150Joker

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: 5150Joker
LOL I can't wait to see the spin nVidia fans put on this one - especially the ones that were saying ULi is trash. Now they'll do a 180 and praise it since nVidia is buying them out.

:disgust: Uhhh... I'm a nVidia supporter and the OP...

ULi has some decent engineers. They make a good Southbridge, their northbridges were and are trash however (I can speak from experience here, having owned an ASUS P5A-B motherboard based on the ALi (ULi) chipset (their intel chipset of the time was little better than the Super-7 one).

The main thing that held ULi back was a lack of real interest in their products from manufacturers so a lot of engineering talent was wasted. It will be interesting to see what they do for nVidia.

Uh oh, if they had trash northbridges, maybe they'll infect nVidia. On a more serious note, I agree with people thinking this isn't good for the industry. Less competition is what made the video and CPU industry a two-horse race and it limits your choices. Unless VIA figures out a way to make SLI/Crossfire work with their chipsets, they're screwed too.

Yeah, right! maybe won't have them do any Northbridge work? Not that I could care less anyhow. Current AMD cpu's don't require a Northbridge and Intel owners deserve what they get.

They require a north bridge just like Intel's. The nForce chipset is the only one that has a one-chip solution for both platforms unless I'm sorely mistaken.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

LOL, so that excuses them? That's the main reason I bought the 6800NU PCI-E card over the X800 PRO. The box my Leadtek card came in still says encode acceleration on the back of it.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Sounds like a good move for Nividia - their Nforce line is already a market leader; getting some more brains and technology under their belt can only help (just like the 3dfx acquisition yielded Nvidia SLI). Nvidia's done a great job cherry picking a few companies at the perfect time.

nvidia's SLI has nothing to do with 3dfx's. in fact, nvidia has used sparingly little of what they got from 3dfx. they didn't pay money for the technology. they paid money to keep the technology out of someone else's hands.

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

meh...I would have liked it very much if my 6800GT could have accelerated video encoding. Some people like to get the most out of a $350+ purchase...

And what would you actually use the encoding for, other than stealing other peoples content? Or are you an aspiring hollywood movie maker? Most people couldn't care less about this feature because a DVD recorder from walmart will do all the encoding they need, cheaper and easier.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

meh...I would have liked it very much if my 6800GT could have accelerated video encoding. Some people like to get the most out of a $350+ purchase...

And what would you actually use the encoding for, other than stealing other peoples content? Or are you an aspiring hollywood movie maker? Most people couldn't care less about this feature because a DVD recorder from walmart will do all the encoding they need, cheaper and easier.

Wow, nice assumptions there. Ever heard of free OTA HDTV content?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor
And what would you actually use the encoding for, other than stealing other peoples content? Or are you an aspiring hollywood movie maker? Most people couldn't care less about this feature because a DVD recorder from walmart will do all the encoding they need, cheaper and easier.

Way to prejudge people...

There are a lot more uses for encoding than stealing.

Specifically for turning uncompressed/gigabyte-sized videos into something more manageable (this alone comprises a ton of scenarios: DV cam, TV capture, HD transport streams). Or home-made video game movies. Or converting from VHS tape. The list goes on.

 

[jrphoenix]

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

Although it sucks for all of us that bought a product with a feature advertised........ Now Nvidia tells us to go to he*ll. Not good!

 

[Killrose]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

meh...I would have liked it very much if my 6800GT could have accelerated video encoding. Some people like to get the most out of a $350+ purchase...

Exactly, Synthdude. And by the way Gstanfor, where are those AGP 7800GTX and GT's? AGP is STILL faster than PCI-e, but you can't do 2, which is my point.

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: jrphoenix

Originally posted by: Gstanfor

Originally posted by: rbV5

As for the NV40/45 video playback you seem so determined to try to make an issue out of (like the good little fanATic that you are), this only affects non MPEG (MPEG being the industry standard) based codecs (such as microsofts)

Really, did they get MPEG encoding working yet? or any encoding? Funny how the Nvidia appologists can always find a reason to downplay the purevideo fiasco

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

Although it sucks for all of us that bought a product with a feature advertised........ Now Nvidia tells us to go to he*ll. Not good!

Consumers apparently don't share your concerns over the (irrelevant IMO) advertised feature or nVidia's sales would have fallen, not risen - after all as the fanATics are so keen to point out the Radeons "have more advanced video features" than nVidia's... doesn't seem to have helped sales vs nVidia since NV40 launched though does it? :laugh:

 

[coomar]

Originally posted by: nts

Originally posted by: fliguy84
so after this, will ULi chipsets still be around? or nvidia will halt them to focus more on nforce chipsets

There is no reason to have two competing chipsets from the same company (no company competes with itself ). Focus will probably be on NFORCE, for the name atleast. ULI will likely become the low end.

so many congolmerates do this its not even funny, in Canada, BestBuy and Futureshop, in electronics the unholy alliance of RCA, JVC, Panasonic and Technic

clothing stores like Footlocker, Athletes World, Champs

 

[terentenet]

WTF are you talking about video encoding? That was an nVidia purchased ULi thread. What's video encoding got to do with that?
Am nVidia biased, I admit. BUT
PureVideo beats the hell out of AVIVO (read some reviews)
DivX/Xvid beat the hell out of h.264 (both time and size)
Who's the winner? Consumers are.
nVidia will once again make a 3dfx type move, buy the company, has their technology and produce another nForce chipset with some of that technology embeeded.
ElFenix, I believe SLi has EVERYTHING to do with 3DFX, it was their discovery, patented and no other could use it. When nVidia bought 3Dfx, they bought their intelectual rights also, so it gained access to SLI and some other technologies.

This is good because nVidia making an outstanding chipset or video card, will force ATi into throwing in some competition for that, or vice-versa.

 

[BFG10K]

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

99.999% of the general population doesn't give a rats arse about SLI or SM 3.0 either so what's your point?

 

[fliguy84]

if ATI buys Via, then both nvidia and ATI will be even

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Perhaps nVidia, like 99.999% of the general population who bought 6800 based cards couldn't giuve a rats arse about video encoding on what is primarily a 3D gaming device?

99.999% of the general population doesn't give a rats arse about SLI or SM 3.0 either so what's your point?

Oh, I think you are wrong there BFG10K (was wondering when you were going to crawl out from under your bridge).

People like to be somewhat futureproof and they like new features, even if they don't necessarily use them right away. That's a big part of the reason why "Joe Average" was more likely to pick up a nVidia card than an ATi one during the x8xx era. The same situation is playing out with SLi. people may not necessarily need SLi, but they still purchase the SLi motherboard "just in case", so they can be prepared down the track.