Rather than battle each other hammer and tongs, sources claim that ATI and Nvidia have recently had meetings in an effort to put the brakes on the speed at which new graphics products are released.

The story goes that both companies are weary of the huge money they're putting into research and development, and the subsequent hammering they get from the gentlefolk of the press if launch dates are missed.

Lower margins, the still high cost of producing .13µ technology are other good reasons for the firms to talk to each other in an effort to cool things, amigo. Or so the rumours go.

The firms also have detected signs of ennui from consumers who see the megadollars they're paying for new graphics card superseded just a few months down the line.

Different variations of the same chip binned at the right speeds and selected carefully for the right market might be fine for the graphics giants, but makes life that much harder for the consumer.

All good reasons, therefore, for the two graphics giants to huddle together in secret conclaves to see what can be done and to balance the financial books that little bit better.

Because Nvidia and ATI are both fabless firms, the foundries wouldn't be happy if these reports turn out to be accurate.

Nor, we'd suggest, would consumers end up being very happy. Because again, if it is true, people might start breathing the word "cartel".

ATI and Nvidia have often been compared to Intel and AMD in the way they've battled furiously for market share. But could you visualise Chipzilla and Chimpzilla sitting down together over a quiet candlelit dinner discussing a similar deal? Not on your nellie! That's be a free ticket to collect the dole, we'd suggest. But ATI and Nvidia don't have quite the same animosity towards each other as Intel and AMD, and job swaps aren't unheard of in the graphics biz. So we wouldn't rule it out here at the INQ. Not by any means. µ