Nvidia accuses Intel of anticompetitive hornswoggling

If you buy an Intel Atom chip with Intel’s shitty video chipset, you pay $25 for the lot. But if you are Nvidia buying an Atom chip to wed to one of your own superior video chipsets, you pay $45 just for the Atom. [Lilliputing]

1. [TJ S]

   Yep, this just about defines “anticompetitive”. Unfortunately, any sort of legal outcome on this will take so long that Intel’s next chipset will be ready first (the one with the video and memory controllers on the CPU), and they’ll do the same thing again.

2. [dculberson]

   I think the system manufacturers buy the chips loose and solder them to the board. (I mean the people actually manufacturing the netbooks.)

3. [dculberson]

   So… why wouldn’t the system manufacturers just buy the set and trash the video chip? (Or resell it if there’s a market for it.)

4. [GeekMan]

   I think it’s about time to consider either splitting up Intel, or forcing them to open up x86 so that truly innovative companies, like NVidia, can produce alternatives.

5. [sicarius]

   @ dculberson
   #2 – 8:11 AM May 20, 2009

   I believe the atom is soldered onto the motherboard, which makes it kinda hard to seperate.