Intel forces motherboard vendors to buy 915/925

MOTHERBOARD VENDORS are saying that Intel makes them buy 915 and 925 chipsets whether they like it or like it not. Each time when they want to place an order for 875 or 865 chipsets, Intel kindly asks them to get some 915 or 925 chipset of their choice.

Everybody keep saying that 915 and 925 motherboard sales were not that great and that most motherboard companies have a huge stock of those boards sitting in some warehouses in Asia. You just cannot sell enough since the demand is still not there, is the plaint.

Motherboard manufacturers actually do want to buy many 875s and especially 865s as there is still strong demand for those boards. But there is a trick. Intel and its blue suited men and women made motherboard vendors buy 875 and 865 chipset only if they commit to buy 915 or 925 chips with it.

It's kind of forcing your sales like an enormous radish in a nightmare grow bag but if you are the boss you kind of can do it. It's called monopolism last time I checked. Not to blame Intel, of course. Its chip division has as its mission in the boulevard to sell as many of these chips as it possibly can. You can't blame it. And the INQ doesn't blame it.

Still this gives you a picture of the market acceptance of PCIe chipsets, especially Intel ones. It's a slow and painful artefaction, especially in the upgrade market. On the other hand, OEMs are doing fine with it as you, as a customer, buy a complete system that a company makes from scratch. µ