Two graphics card vendors fight with AMD over their refusal to share around 4-series cores.
Palit and Gainward are two of the largest manufacturers of graphics cards worldwide, and are owned by a parent company that also includes Galaxy cards.
Gainward had released their version of the 4850, but it was a custom designed PCB that used GDDR5 instead of the reference GDDR3 - something that AMD had requested they not pursue thanks to the competitors not having their non-reference designs out.
Supposedly in retaliation, AMD were said to have restricted shipments of the RV790XT and RV740 cores - the same as in the 4890 and 4770 respectively - keeping both Palit and Gainward starved of chips as punishment.
As most relationships between big players in the tech world are precarious at the best of times, when you get a graphic card vendor as big as Palit/Gainward pissed off at their supplier (AMD), the metaphorical goop hits the fan.
The big graphic card manufacturer is now threatening to remove all ties with AMD's cores, effectively deciding that all three graphics card companies will return to an NVIDIA-only market, something that will hurt AMD's coffers as well as removing a little competition.
This isn't great news for enthusiasts as competition drives price wars which means lower prices for us, but the split hasn't happened just yet.
Head over to the Bright Side of News to read a little more about the split and some history behind the rumoured move.
Issue: 111 | April, 2010