DigiTimes reports that Nvidia will release an update of its Athlon based 420 chipset this month, and in June, they are expected to launch nForce2 at Computex Taipei. With the recent launch of the graphics free 415-D chipset, which was released to broaden the appeal of nForce, nForce2 is expected to support the latest DDR333 or DDR400 memory to keep nForce competitive with the latest offerings from VIA and SIS.

When nForce was launched last year, this was Nvidia's first foray into the core logic chipset business. Industry take-up has proven its success. To date, nForce platforms have been adopted by more than 100 leading companies, from motherboard manufacturers to PC OEMs and system builders. A good example of this is Falcon Northwest, a company that specializes in gaming PCs, which has implemented nForce as the standard platform for every system in their Talon line of value gaming PCs, fully exploiting the value proposition that VHJ discussed last month. The success of nForce will greatly help nForce2 when it is launched, consolidating Nvidia's growing position in this important market segment.