Nvidia Stops Production of NForce Chipsets Due to Lawsuit With Intel

Those who follow the computer hardware game closely are likely aware of the legal battle that Intel and Nvidia have been tied up in over licensing issues. In a new development, Nvidia is ceasing development of its NForce chipset, effectively putting the development program on hold while the legal battle unfolds. With no Intel chipsets being developed, the manufacturer will focus its attention on its recently-announced Fermi GPU architecture and other endeavors including its Tegra graphics chip for mobile devices.

While specific information such as availability, performance and prices for 3D cards using Fermi architecture have yet to be provided, Nvidia refers to it as the “most significant leap forward in GPU architecture since the original G80″. Providing some good news for gamers, the architecture will support DirectX 11 and will use GDDR5 memory. For a complete breakdown, check out this piece on PC Perspective.

In the meantime, Nvidia’s competitor AMD has jumped ahead in the market after launching its Radeon HD 5800 series graphics cards, which are Windows 7-ready. It remains to be seen if this developments in addition to the halt on production of NForce will have a significant impact on the market position of Nvidia. [via CNET]