Will nVidia soon be the only video chipmaker?

[Samantha]

I deal mostly with software in my work and keeping up with software developments is a full-time job in itself. Therefore, I don't follow hardware developments as closely, but catch up when I need to make purchases, as I'm doing now for a new home PC.

I'm rather astounded with how nVidia is wiping the floor with what's left of its competitors. In recent months, 5 card makers have disappeared or gotten out of the business, including S3/Diamond and NumberNine. Others have merged. ATI is said to be in trouble and it's expected the nVidia will soon surpass it as the number one video company. About the only thing Matrox seems to have going for it is its usual stellar 2-D performance and dual-head support. The early reviews on 3DFX's latest, pricey card place it behind the performance of nVidia's Geforce GTS. Who else is producing not just cards, but chips?

While nVidia appears to make excellent chips, is this overall trend good for the consumer? Will nVidia become the Intel (of the early years) of the video sector?


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[der King Mongo]

I wish I knew more, but the consensus from the (video chip) industry is that within a few years, the whole market will have changed. There's some expectation that CPUs will have advanced to a state that they can handle all the FPU calculations by themselves, without needing to shunt that stuff off to the video. I think this sector is waaaaay too dynamic for us to have to worry about a monopolist, at least, not yet. After all, look at 3dfx, which used to be the big name chipmaker. They still are number one in sales (I believe), but as far as reputation goes, nVidia is tops. As for the other makers, well, it's sort of their fault for making crappy product. ATI only gets by because of the integration of TV/DVD etc into its CARDS, but their chip blows. BUT, it IS cheap, and is featured prominently in many OEM systems, as the onboard video.

My $.02

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***He who eats when he is full, digs his grave with his teeth***

[Charles Kozierok]

I'm kind of surprised to hear you say that actually, King. It seems to me that the overall trend of the last few years has been to more specialized processing. I can't see CPU performance getting so good that people will be willing to give up the video processor.

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Charles M. Kozierok ( ixlubb@PCGuide.com )
Webslave, The PC Guide (http://www.PCGuide.com)
Comprehensive PC Reference, Troubleshooting, Optimization and Buyer's Guides...

[der King Mongo]

Hmmmm...I wish I could find that article... Now that I think about it, it might have been the consensus of game developers...darn, I hate when you can't find anything to back up a theory--it makes you look like a doofus!

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***He who eats when he is full, digs his grave with his teeth***

[Samantha]

Now that you mention it, King, I recall reading a similar thing. I think it has more to do with developing processors for internet devices or appliances or whatever they are called this week. Isn't this why nVidia is is reported to be going in the system chipset business?


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