NVIDIA, PC makers pushing Intel to open Atom platform

DigiTimes writes NVIDIA and Taiwanese PC makers are forcing Intel to make the Atom platform more open, so they can release nettops with NVIDIA's GeForce 9400M chipset. Lots of info about the upcoming NVIDIA Ion platform for ultra-small computer systems was unveiled today, but apparently there are still some problems as Intel refuses to ship Atom processors without its chipsets.

Drew Henry, general manager of MCP business at Nvidia,pointed out that Atom processors have a high price/performance ratio, but said that, in his opinion, limiting them to 945GSE and 945GC chipsets will only limit future development. Therefore Nvidia hopes to work with PC makers to form a platform combining its MCP7A or MCP79 chipsets with Atom processors to significantly boost the graphics performance of netbooks and nettops.

However, the plan still has not yet been agreed by Intel, Henry noted. The company is currently trying to negotiate directly with PC makers and hopes to talk makers into demanding Intel sells them only CPUs, as opposed to the current situation when the CPUs and chipsets must be bought together, thus indirectly forcing Intel to give in to Nvidia's plan.