NVIDIA and Intel Battle On, NVIDIA CEO Loves Apple

Intel and NVIDIA are suing each other over chipset licensing details and because NVIDIA told Apple not to use Intel's graphics products.

Intel is suing NVIDIA in an effort to get them dropped from chipset licensing on Nehalem boards. NVIDIA has filed countersuit against Intel. NVIDIA has even gone as far as to sponsor cartoons lampooning Intel.

NVIDIA particularly enraged Intel when it convinced Apple to dump Intel’s integrated graphics from its product lineup in favor of NVIDIA designs. Intel vows it will make a return to the Mac graphics platform, stating, “Graphics is a competitive market and we compete for all new business. “

Apple’s decision to opt for NVIDIA is certainly being rewarded with loads of love from the graphics giant. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, speaking in Dubai at the American University of Dubai (AUD), showed a lot of affection for the Cupertino company, bragging that his household was “all Apple” according to Shuffle Gazine.

He brags, “Apple uses the best technology for their [computers]. Apple says to their customers: if you buy a computer from us you can be sure we have selected the best technology inside for you. That is their promise to consumers. Their promise to consumers isn’t we’ve selected the best technology for you with the exception of what Intel allows us to use. That’s not their promise. And that’s why Apple uses the best technology where they want whenever they want. And that’s why I’m all Apple! At home it’s just Macs everywhere. It’s NVIDIA’s technology in all of them but I use Macs. My son has two Macs, my daughter has a Mac, there’s an extra Mac just in case and my wife has a Mac. It’s just Mac, Mac, Mac! Because I know it’s got the best stuff inside.”

He says Intel’s model of standardization doesn’t work for all OEMs. He continued, adding that OEMs that thrive on a luxury image, like Apple, need differentiated technology to support their brands.

Aside from its obvious implications in the Mac vs. PC debate, Mr. Huang’s comments throw support behind a platform that doesn’t typically cater to modern 3D gaming — OS X. With its upcoming Fermi GPUs, NVIDIA is primarily targeting the GPU computing market, despite the fact that most of its current dedicated GPU business comes from computer gaming enthusiasts.