AMD's Canadian Ally

For a while, AMD executives said they didn't want to do what Intel does so well: bundling microprocessors with other chips. This is the strategy for Centrino, which is a group of microprocessor, chipset, and WiFi chip. Every time you see a laptop with the Centrino sticker, you know that computer has several Intel chips inside. Time has changed for AMD, which realizes that it's got to offer more than microprocessors in order to attract customers who like to one-stop shop. The chip company today said it will pay $5.4 billion for graphics chip company ATI in Canada and build ATI's technologies into future microprocessors. The aquisition is the latest step taken by AMD this year to re-focus its effort on selling x86 computer chips. It sold its Alchemy chip line to Raza Microelectronics, and it now markets x86 chips by Transmeta that target the cheap-PC market.