Written by Nicolas Gridelet
Published on July 8, 2008

URL: http://www.behardware.com/news/lire/08-07-2008/#9813

Nvidia has insisted loud and clear on its wager consisting of a partnership with VIA and the VN platform equipped with a Nano processor and MCP7x so that it can offer a credible alternative to Intel’s Atom "Diamondville". However, this situation could soon change.

According to Digitimes, Nvidia more or less used the former Taiwanese chipset giant and the VN platform as leverage in negotiations with Intel in order that it could provide MCP73 chipsets for the Atom platform. Moreover, it is something that will break the NVIAdia alliance. Given the fact that the Atom’s performances are attainable by the latest VIA CPUs and the aging Intel 945GC can’t stand the challenge with Nvidia IGPs, there was indeed a risk for Intel.

If this is confirmed, the GeForce’s creator has once again proved its talents as a clever tactician while its current "partner" will have to pay the price. We will just have to see if other disagreements between Nvidia and the Santa Clara company concerning SLI and USB 3.0, amongst others, can also be ironed out.