Nvidia is to tweak its MCP79 chipset to work with Intel's Atom processor, it has been claimed.

MCP79 - aka the GeForce 9400M - currently works with Intel's mobile Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme CPUs. But according to industry moles, Nvidia has signed a deal with Intel to add Atom to the list, assuming it doesn't covertly support the chip already.

The claim comes a month after it was alleged that Nvidia and VIA had killed off a project to develop a netbook reference platform based in Nvidia graphics and VIA processor technology.

Interestingly, the moles maintain the initial focus of the Nvidia-Intel pact - perhaps heralded back in July this year - will centre on Small, Cheap desktop Computers rather than netbooks, presumably for power consumption reasons and because it's felt that desktops need the extra graphical wallop the Nvidia technology can provide more than netbooks do.