Anonymous sources from PC makers told DigiTimes that Acer has placed an order for Nvidia's Ion 2 chipsets. Ion 2 is compatible with Intel's upcoming Pineview Atom processors, and Acer will inevitably use the graphics chip in some of its revamped low-powered systems -- such as the AspireRevo nettop or Aspire One netbook.

The next-generation Atom CPUs are expected to arrive on January 11 and will feature a system-on-chip (SOC) design with an integrated single-channel DDR2 memory controller and graphics core. Because of that, the sources suggest Nvidia's Ion 2 chip will act more like a discrete GPU in systems sporting a Pineview processor.

The sources also noted that Nvidia is still on track to release a chipset for VIA's processors. Nvidia has declined to comment, saying it doesn't respond to market hearsay.