Second-tier Taiwanese motherboard makers have begun ramping production of graphics cards to leverage their established motherboard channels, according to sources at the makers.
Second-tier motherboard makers are also planning to bundle their VGA cards with PCI Express motherboards as a way to boost sales, said the sources.
Abit Computer plans to ramp up its monthly production to 60,000-70,000 VGA cards in September and 100,000 units in the fourth quarter, up from an average of 45,000 units in the first half of this year, said company president Jason Hsu.
About 15% of Abit’s VGA cards sold in the first half were bundled with its motherboards. Hsu expects the proportion to rise to 30% in the second half. Abit shipped 1.16 million motherboards in the first five months of this year, and it aims to ship 3.2 million units by the end of the year, Hsu stated.
Biostar Microtech International plans to start marketing VGA cards in the fourth quarter of this year amid increasing demand from its motherboard clients, said company president Paul Wang.
Biostar aims to boost its production of VGA cards to 100,000 units a month by the end of the year, with 30% bundled with motherboards to channel distributors, Wang said.
Market sources said that Biostar is likely to use Nvidia graphics chips. Abit now buys graphics chips from ATI Technology.
Meanwhile, local VGA card makers are stepping up their sales cooperation with other motherboard makers amid rising pressure from the second-tier motherboards makers like Abit and Biostar, said the sources.
Leadtek Research said 20-30% of its VGA cards will be bundled with Foxconn motherboards in the second half of this year, while Prolink Microsystems said it plans to bundle its VGA cards with branded motherboard makers that currently do not produce VGA cards.
Article translated by Steve Shen and edited by Michael McManus
