CPUs, Motherboards & RAM
Graphics Cards
Peripherals
Modding & Cooling
Systems
Networking
Security
Operating Systems
PC Games
Console Games
Atomic.edu
Tutorials
Lifestyle
Entertainment
Science
Merchandise
Wallpapers
Revolver Melbourne 2011
Revolver Sydney 2011
Atomic Unlocked 2010
Power to the PC Tour 2010
Industry Events
Login
|
Register
|
RSS
News
|
Reviews
|
Features
|
Podcasts
|
Opinions
|
Galleries
|
Videos
|
Competitions
|
Newsletter
|
Subscribe
Friday February 10, 2012 12:06 PM AEST
Atomic MPC
>
News
>
Build
>
CPUs, Motherboards & RAM
>
Nvidia chipsets are history
CPUs, Motherboards & RAM
Nvidia chipsets are history
By
Charlie Demerjian
10:49 Aug 4, 2008
|
1 Comment
Tags:
Nvidia
|
chipsets
|
are
|
history
Tweet
Related Articles
Confirmed: Australia misses out on new NVIDIA GPU
ASUS' MARS II GTX 580 SLI about as fast as it gets
ASUS' Matrix GTX580 Platinum is giant!
Intel Knight’s Corner challenges NVIDIA supercomputing stranglehold
Whithersoever the axe doth fall
THERE ARE A ton of 'rumors' floating around about Nvidia giving up the ghost on it's ailing chipset division. Nvidia is desperately trying to deny it, but don't believe the spin, the division is deader than an Nvidia mobile GPU.
Just over a week ago, Nvidia's maximum leader, Jen-Hsun Huang, held a meeting with Taiwanese mobo partners. He directly asked them if there was a reason why Nvidia should stay in the chipset business. You could hear the crickets chirp.
In mainland China. No one came up with a reason, so the division was officially killed, and the teams will be rolled into GPU projects.
Nvidia PR is having the proverbial hissy-fit, but ignore it, they do that a lot. The INQUIRER has talked to people who were at the meeting, and they confirmed the reports, and are dead convnced that Nvidia chipsets are a thing of the past.
This is not to say that there will be no new chipsets from today. Things currently done or almost done will be out, but new designs won't be started, and early-stage projects are not likely to continue. Deep breaths people, projects on the near term horizon are safe, or at least safe from that paticular axe.
This mercy killing was strongly hinted at during Cebit in March, and was likely a done deal back then. If you look at the abysmal performance of the group, from the laughable 780i and the highly dropped 790i to being six months late to PCIe2, you understand why things are going away. The division basically couldn't engineer their way out of a paper bag, and have had their sales figures covered by the GPU side.
The problem with axing the chipset division is that it also axes their SLI lock-in lever. Nvidia has long used SLI to squeeze partners for cash, and the partners are not particularly happy about this. Now that Nvidia chipsets are going away and the GPU lead is lost, partners are about to put the boot in.
Nvidia's current plan is to put the singularly awful NV200 PCIe decelerator and latency multiplier on Intel x58 motherboards in order to pretend that there is a reason other than sabotaged drivers for SLI to work.
Polling OEMs, this is not going to get any traction, a view backed up by Nova's polling the other day. Having to beg when your twisting brings smiles to your partner's faces is not where Nvidia wants to be. What comes around....... If you want to know how desperate they are to try this, notice they did not co-announce that little deal with Intel.
Nvidia AR/IR is more than happy to say that they won't bother with a CSI chipset for financial reasons, but will do an MSI chipset later on. Putting aside the blatant NDA violations they get for publicly giving Intel's long term roadmaps to anyone who will listen, engineers tell us that Nvidia does not have the process technology and engineering prowess to compete at that level. This is backed up by how increasingly late Nvidia is with each new technology, and all the chipset slips of late.
The next master plan is to try and artificially make up a 'reason' to lock out those who don't tithe from SLI 'technology'. Large mobo makers openly laughed at this plan when asked by The INQUIRER about the possibility of paying. The memory of how Nvidia is currently screwing Intel over SLI on Skulltrail, with the same NV200 chips is still fresh in OEMs minds. Without a lock and a halo card, things could be very bad for for Nvidia marketshare.
So in the end, Nvidia chipsets are history. You will see a few more trickle out mainly because they are already done and dusted. Mobo makers are taking the attitude of "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out", while laughing off future marketing initiatives. Game over.
theinquirer.net (c) 2010 Incisive Media
Behind the scenes with Mass Effect 3! GTX 560 VGA round-up! Essential Skyrim tweaks to improve your game! Plus reviews, news, hardware, more games, and easy to following modding guides for PC builders. ON SALE NOW!
Purchase your copy now - only $8.95 including postage
Subscribe to our digital version - only $49.95 a year
Email this
Print this
Tweet this
Send us your tips
Ads by Google
1 Comment
engg2000
Feb 11, 2009 6:46 AM
Good call Charlie....What are you, 0 for 10 with regard to your NVIDIA predictions?
Comments have been disabled on this article.
Five things that could kill Mass Effect 3
HD7970 vs GTX 780: the future of graphics cards in 2012
The Darkness
Creation Kit and Steam Workshop for Skyrim go live, Texture Pack released
PS3 pwns retail, while Xbox also... pwns... huh?
Powered by Disqus
Latest Competitions
Thermaltake kicks off your gaming year with a BANG
Thermaltake has started off the new year with a bang by giving away a Tt eSport Theron Laser mouse to not one or two, but TWENTY lucky Atomicans!
Atomic Magazine
Issue:
133
|
February, 2012
Atomic
is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.
Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.
What's in this issue?
Subscribe Now
Buy this issue
Digital Version
Latest Comments
Powered by Disqus
Latest User Reviews
90%
Battlefield 3 is the new benchmark online FPS
A very fun and realistic multiplayer ride.
By
Periander
|
10:59 Nov 20, 2011
90%
Antec Kuhler 920 - liquid cool
Antec Kuhler 920 silent but effientive out of the box no maintence water cooling kit
By
mattleyland
|
14:23 Oct 28, 2011
90%
Antec's Lanboy Air - our new favourite case
Antec Lan boy Air in red a very cool design
By
mattleyland
|
12:55 Oct 28, 2011
90%
Antec's Lanboy Air - our new favourite case
This product overall is awesome.
By
Provodnik14
|
10:43 Oct 16, 2011
90%
MSI's GT780 laptop as fast as it gets
Nice laptop
By
daryl.cheshire
|
00:53 Oct 4, 2011
more user reviews »
Get the February, 2012 issue of
Atomic
mailed to you for
$8.95
, including postage.
Subscribe
Buy now
Digital Version