Is Intel's i915G chipset - the integrated version of Grantsdale - hitting Nvidia and ATI's share of the low-end graphics market? This appears to be the case, if report that the two graphics chip specialists have cut their entry-level part wafer-starts is accurate.

According to Taiwanese industry sources cited Nvidia has cut NV34 starts by up to 66 per cent, while ATI has reduced RV280 starts by an unknown amount.

The story focuses on the need to ease 140nm and 150nm process production at the two companies' foundry partners, TSMC and UMC. Demand for products fabbed at both nodes is said to be strong, while supply is tight.

But the story's sources also claim that big-name PC OEMs are turning to the i915G and its integrated Media Accelerator 900 engine, instead of entry-level graphics solutions. This in turn is forcing ATI and Nvidia to scale back production.

Intel is already the world's biggest supplier of graphics chip technology, entirely due to its integrated chipsets. With a DirectX 9-compatible engine in Grantsdale - well, at the pixel shader level; MA900 lacks hardware vertex shader support - it can't help but increase its market share.

Short-term respite may come courtesy of the Grantsdale recall. While shipments of the chipset have apparently resumed, mobo-maker sources say boards won't ship in volume until the end of the month. But that still leaves the whole of August for Grantsdale-based systems to be offered to back-to-school buyers. ®

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