Nvidia and ATI reduce 0.14/0.15-micron wafer starts at TSMC

Post by **Apoptosis** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 9:17 am

Looks like the vid guys are cutting production on their low-end GPU wafers.

Nvidia and ATI Technologies have both reportedly cut their wafer starts for entry-level graphic chips at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), easing the foundries’ tight production on the 0.14/0.15-micron process, according to sources in the industry.

TSMC and UMC both declined to comment on the report.

I found this comment to be the most interesting though:

"More PC OEMs like Dell and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have decided to use Intel 915G integrated graphics chipsets for their PCs in the second half of the year, prompting Nvidia and ATI to reduce the supply of the entry-level graphics chips, the sources noted."

Looks like the integrated solution is on par with what the entry level cards and for little additional motherboard cost and no more add-in card price to deal with. It's going to hurt ATI & Nvidia, but at the same time help Dell and HP with profit margins and lower price points for their entry level systems.

For more info: Digitimes