Summary
Nvidia's chipsets outperform Intel's when it comes to integrated 3-D graphics, but Intel's move to incorporate graphics into its Core i3/i5 CPUs leaves no room for Nvidia's integrated solution. Too bad! Windows 7's DirectCompute feature speeds up media operations on systems with AMD or Nvidia discrete or integrated GPUs, but won't work with Intel's integrated graphics. Even users who don't care about 3-D may notice this media deceleration on Core i3/i5 systems that lack discrete GPUs.
Analysis
The issues Nvidia faces with regard to its Intel chipset business have more to do with Moore’s law than contract law. Intel’s move to integrate graphics and memory controllers into the CPU package (if not the CPU itself) basically eliminates the opportunity for a separate north bridge that includes a GPU and memory controller. Intel’s earlier chips used a front-side bus to tie the CPU into the rest of the system, but now the CPU handles these functions directly. Nvidia's 9400M and Ion chipsets were good opening acts, but it now appears they will end up as a one-act plays.
Intel's own executives have characterized the company's approach to the graphics capabilities it includes with its chipsets as its "good enough graphics" strategy. Users who really care about 3-D graphics performance or features typically will pay the $50 or more incremental cost to add a discrete graphics processor, typically from AMD or Nvidia, to their systems. Most users don't care enough to pay this premium, and settle for the lackluster performance of Intel's GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) graphics, which, according to Jon Peddie's statistics, accounts for more than half of current notebook shipments.
Windows 7 includes a new feature ("DirectCompute") that employs GPU hardware to speed up compute-intensive media tasks such as reformatting video and audio files so they can be used in media players. These transcoding operations run painfully slowly, even on the fastest CPUs, but can be sped up by factors of 3X to 5X by using GPU hardware resources. This means the system's GPU takes on a new relevance for users who don't care a bit about 3-D graphics. Nvidia and AMD/ATI offer DirectCompute drivers for the GPUs integrated into their latest chipsets, but Intel does not, and most likely will not, since (a) Intel’s GMA graphics hardware lacks features needed to facilitate GPU computing, and (b) Intel wants users to buy faster CPUs, not faster integrated GPUs.
Nvidia’s inability to offer chipsets that work with Intel's new Core i3/i5/i7 line represents a loss for the industry, especially in the coming Windows 7 DirectCompute era. Users can still purchase premium desktop and notebook systems with discrete GPUs in order to gain this capability, but more than half the systems sold in recent years rely on integrated graphics in order to meet popular system price points. It's unlikely the move to Win 7 will reverse this trend. Unless Intel pulls a DirectCompute rabbit out of its GMA hat, users seeking to tap DirectCompute features on notebooks and desktops that lack discrete GPUs will have but two choices: AMD-based systems that use AMD chipsets or AMD-based systems that use Nvidia chipsets.
Nathan Brookwood consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
