Nvidia to abandon VIA for Intel Atom?

Earlier this year rumors began to emerge that Nvidia and VIA were teaming up to take on Intel’s Atom, in a cooperation that would see VIA’s C7 and C8 processors paired with Nvidia’s own IGP to form a new VN platform. Apparently, though, Nvidia has its own agenda and is set to abandon VIA in hopes of getting its GPU tech into the Atom platform.

This according to DigiTimes’ sources, who claim that the graphics firm was simply using the alliance as a bargaining tool to persuade Intel to let Nvidia offer its MCP73 IGP chipset for use in Atom-based systems. If true, it would be a major blow for the relatively small chip company and would strengthen Atom’s position in the low-cost market.

The two have had their share of disagreements recently, with Intel stonewalling Nvidia's Nehalem chipsets and Nvidia refusing to give them an SLI license. It’s not hard to imagine, then, Atom support being rolled into their negotiations too. But for now we’ll take this for what it is – a rumor.