Nvidia unveiled a server product on Tuesday that allows people to work
on graphics-intensive tasks by connecting through low-end computers, the
chipmaker's latest move to stake out new markets as its traditional PC
market loses steam.
With consumers increasingly choosing tablets and
smartphones over PCs, Nvidia has been looking for places to apply its
graphics chip expertise, including enterprise computing, mobile devices
and hand-held game devices.
Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said
the new product, called the GRID Virtual Computing Appliance, would give
workers at small- and medium-sized companies access to sophisticated
graphics computing power for tasks like image processing without
providing each employee with a top-tier PC.
"It's as if you have
your own virtual high-end PC under your desk," Huang said during a
presentation at an industry event in San Jose, California.
The
product is made up of a server rack filled with Intel Xeon central
processors, memory chips and several of Nvidia's high-end graphics
processors.
It is aimed at companies with limited IT
infrastructure and will be priced starting at $24,900, plus $2,400 a
year for a license.
Nvidia is partnering with enterprise
technology companies like Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Dell to sell a more
sophisticated virtual graphics product for larger companies.
Nvidia
has met some success with its Tegra mobile chips in tablets, but the
company, best-known for its high-end PC graphics chips used by gamers,
faces stiff competition from Qualcomm.
The graphics server products unveiled on Tuesday follow other recently announced ventures by Nvidia beyond PCs and tablets.
In
January, Nvidia said it was launching a cloud server and software
product called the Nvidia Grid, designed to remotely handle graphics
computations for video games instead of on consoles like the Xbox in
game-players' living rooms.
Nvidia also plans in the second
quarter to start shipping a new hand-held gaming device with its
upcoming Tegra 4 processor and a built-in screen. The device, referred
to as Project Shield, runs Android games currently found on smartphones
and tablets and can also stream video games from PCs.
The company
has also been promoting its graphics chips to be used in supercomputers
for tasks they specifically excel at, like climate prediction, physics
simulations and oil exploration.
Nvidia's stock closed down 0.6 percent at $12.47.
© Thomson Reuters 2013