AMD to Ditch the ATI Brand for Radeon Graphics
Goodbye, ATI.
The ATI brand has been around the computing space for as long as many of us can remember. Four years ago, AMD acquired ATI but left the name to live on due to its strong brand in the graphics space. Now those days are over, as the graphics division at the chipmaker is at its strongest.
AMD confirmed that it will be phasing out the ATI brand later this year, though it will hang on to the Radeon and FirePro names. Apparently, the names Radeon and FirePro themselves are strong in markets and that ATI label itself isn't as important as AMD.
According to its own research sources, people's preference for AMD triples when he or she is aware of the ATI merger. Not only that, but the AMD brand itself is stronger than ATI's when it is compared to competitors, such as Nvidia. Given this sort of data, AMD decided that now was the perfect time to retire the ATI name.
Besides just the market research surrounding the strength of the AMD brand, the company's reason to consolidate it all under the single name is the blurring of lines between its CPU and GPU offerings. With AMD pushing that the future is Fusion, it seemed like the right time to ditch the graphics branding before the technologies are combined in the upcoming Llano and Ontario chips.
Say goodbye to the old logos and say hello to the new ones with the ATI stamp. Note that there will also be versions of the logo completely devoid of any AMD branding as well, which were created supposedly at the request of OEMs not wanting to confuse the customer at how a single computer could have both an Intel and AMD sticker at the same time.
"We may be saying goodbye to the brand, but the spirit of ATI lives on – in our AMD Radeon and AMD FirePro graphics products, our VISION Technology platforms and soon, in every AMD Fusion APU," said John Volkmann, Corporate Vice President, Brand Marketing, AMD.
How do you feel about the old, familiar ATI brand being sent out to pasture?





We'll have to say goodbye to ATI, and remember a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Radeon will always be ATI to me, and I imagine I'll be talking to a kid 20 years from now and mention ATI, and the kid will have no idea what I'm talking about. Manly tears.
So long ATI, you'll always be a competitor in spirit and your name will forever emblazon red in our minds.
Well, you're thinking more along the lines of nostalgia rather than marketing. I know that in tech circles, more and more, people are saying, "Radeon" or "HD 5xxx" rather than ATI. Really, if you get down two it, you're only substituting two letters the entire brand name.
We'll have to say goodbye to ATI, and remember a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Radeon will always be ATI to me, and I imagine I'll be talking to a kid 20 years from now and mention ATI, and the kid will have no idea what I'm talking about. Manly tears.
So long ATI, you'll always be a competitor in spirit and your name will forever emblazon red in our minds.
What would a intel fanboy say about that?
I agree, but I'm strongly in favor of AMD doing this, and I completely understand why. AMD Radeon will help give AMD a lot of support, since people already know and love Radeon graphics. Oh well... like coleipoo said, ten or twenty years from now the name ATI will be lost to the sands of time, but their graphics and Radeon will live on at least.
Gotta love the stupid public. I guess it's for the better, though.
On a side note, I love their new case stickers. I'm going to have to get me some of those.
And you think NVidia's "Detonator" is better?
Nearer My God To Thee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JvJJCw4Plg