Ivy Bridge Chips Could Hurt Video Cards Sector

The outlook for basic video cards is questionable especially with the introduction of Ivy Bridge chips by Intel (News - Alert), according to an industry analyst. Graphic cards were facing a mediocre market and now it’s even more doubtful given that Ivy Bridge chips provide faster processing and better graphics, according to news reports.

"Ivy Bridge is continuing a downward spiral for graphics card manufacturers that has been going on for a while now," Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates told MarketWatch. "Extreme gamers who want very powerful graphics cards are in a niche market already, and it's shrinking. That doesn't bode well for Nvidia, because their graphics chip market is falling off faster than their mobile chip market. For 95 percent of the folks out there, integrated graphics will be what they want."

Intel CEO Paul Otellini is predicting that Ivy Bridge will be in about half of Intel processor shipments by this coming fall, the Associated Press (News - Alert) reported. They will be offered in time for back to school sales, The AP added. The chips will be found first in desktops and then later laptops, TMCnet reported.

The new chips also feature something called “Tri-Gate” design. Tri-Gate uses less voltage. They also have an integrated graphics processing unit, which will be beneficial in video applications, TMCnet adds.

In a related matter, last month Intel reported quarterly revenue of $12.9 billion, operating income of $3.8 billion, and net income of $2.7 billion. “The first quarter was a solid start to what’s expected to be another growth year for Intel,” Otellini said in a statement carried in an Intel blog post. “In the second quarter we’ll see the first Intel-based smartphones in the market, ship products based on 22nm tri-gate technology in high volume, and accelerate the ramp of our best server product ever, providing a tremendous foundation for growth in 2012 and beyond.”