NVIDIA Leaps Ahead of Tier 2 Chipset Makers

Despite weaker than expected motherboard sales in Q406, NVIDIA appeared to be relatively unaffected, according to market research firm DRAMeXchange.

Among the various chipset manufacturers, NVIDIA performed rather well in Q406. Its market share jumped from 14.0% in Q306 to 18.4% in Q406. For Intel, VIA, SIS and ATi, their respective market share stood at 58.3%, 17.8%, 4.2% and 1.3%, according to the firm. Except for an increase in Intel’s share, the remaining players all experienced a decline, where the largest was seen in SiS.

NVIDIA marches forward with its low-cost C61V
Beginning from Q306, NVIDIA’s C61 series, which works on AMD’s platform, continued to see their market share expand in Q406. Compared to its C51 predecessors, the C61 series integrates both the North and South bridges onto a single chip, significantly reducing the manufacturing costs. The C61 has provided a big boost to NVIDIA’s competitiveness, and has also helped further lower the MB production costs.

The C61 can be divided into three types, dubbed by the P (Premium), S (Standard) and V (Value) designations. As the C61V (GeForce 6100+nForce 400) is more competitively priced, it is gaining a growing popularity among vendors. Its surging market share is already stemming the shipment growth of other Tier 2 chipset manufacturers.