Graphics chip vendors scatter as Intel readies mainstream offering. (i740 graphics chip; others to high-end and low-end) (Product Development)(Brief Article)

As Intel readies its mainstream i740 graphics chip for introduction, competing graphics chip suppliers are looking to more-fertile fields with highly integrated parts for low-cost systems or the highest-performance devices designed for professional applications.

The i740 will offer high performance and a price that is attractive to the high-volume PC market, said Andy Fischer, vice president at Jon Peddie Associates, in Tiburon, Calif. Intel also has developed the software drivers required to gain acceptance for the chip, he said.

Concerned that Intel will take a large piece of the graphics chip business, competitors are looking at new ways to compete, said Fischer. …