Core-logic chipsets from Intel and Nvidia for socket 775 Pentium 4 CPUs are expected to see greater availability in the second quarter, and this will place additional pressure on Taiwan-based chipset makers.

Nvidia will begin volume shipments of its first Pentium 4-supporting core-logic chipsets in the first half of April, targeting the high-end segment, said sources at Taiwan motherboard makers.

The sources also pointed out that first-tier Taiwan motherboard makers have already received the chipsets from Nvidia, and they will be ready to roll out Pentium 4 motherboards fitted with the chipsets by the end of March.

In addition, Intel is expected to start to ramp up the supply of its value versions of the 915 chipset, the 915PL and 915GL, in the second quarter, the sources noted.

Although Intel began shipping the 915PL/GL chipsets in the second half of January, the initial shipment volumes of these two chipsets were rather limited, the sources explained.

Meanwhile, Taiwan-based chipset maker VIA Technologies will start volume shipments of three versions of its new generation of Pentium 4-compatible chipsets, the PT880 Pro, PT894 and PT894 Pro, by the end of March, according to the sources. The three chips, which VIA unveiled late last month, all support PCI Express (PCIe) and DDR2 memory, the company said on its website.

However, to curtail the impact of the availability of Nvidia chipsets and the increasing supply of Intel chipsets on their sales, Taiwan chipmakers, including VIA Technologies and Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS), are likely to focus their production on K8-compatible chipsets, the sources noted