Nvidia Launches Chipsets To Rival Intel's

Nvidia this week launched its first integrated graphic chipsets [IGCs] for lower-end Intel microprocessors, dubbed GeForce 7. According to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of graphics processing units [GPUs], the new lineup is being positioned to increase Nvidia's negligible share of chipsets on mainstream Intel-based PCs.

"Eighty-three percent of Intel boxes have Intel chipsets. We have less than 1 percent," said Dave Ragones, product manager of Nvidia's MCP Group.

Ragones said the new GeForce chipsets would outperform Intel's, and claimed that Nvidia's entry into the IGC market would provide ample benefits for channel partners.

"GeForce is better than the Intel G33 Express chipset. In side-by-side testing, the G7150 'runs as expected' 90 percent of the time. For the G33, it's just 36 percent of the time, plus the Intel chipset is 'unplayable' 37 percent of the time," he said.

"For the system builder, they'll now be able to offer GeForce in an integrated package for a $399 or $499 price point. And we all know there's a huge market for Intel PCs. The GeForce 7150 takes GeForce to price points on the Intel platform that weren't possible before."

For chip watchers, the move by Nvidia, the No. 1 supplier of GPUs in the world, didn't come as a surprise. Though Nvidia is the top vendor of IGCs for Advanced Micro Devices processors with about 60 percent of that market, AMD's acquisition of GPU maker ATI combined with Intel's pushing of its own chipsets has to some extent put Nvidia on the defensive.

According to Ragones, the new GeForce line graphically outperforms Intel's with such applications as Microsoft Office, Google Earth and Adobe Reader, as well as games like Sims 2 and Second Life.

"If you have somebody trying to run these integrated graphics with Intel, you're going to get a much poorer experience," he said.

Nvidia calls its tiered channel program Partner Force. Top system builders get dedicated account representatives, while an inside sales team covers smaller accounts, Ragones said. The vendor claims 20,000 channel members worldwide.

The GeForce lineup, GeForce 7050, 7100 and 7150, will have "wide availability" in October, Ragones said.