"Nvidia is Definitely Working on an x86 Chip"

Does it really look like a competition for Intel?... When I read the article, my first reaction was: now they will control the whole "processing power". That's what people really spend the money on right now (in home desktops at least).

nforce + cpu + gfx == thin-client made by nvidia?

nforce + cpu + gfx + some cheap stuff (storage is cheap and home users don't really care about the sound) == PC based gaming platform?

Or if someone likes conspiracy theories: while working on their gfx chip they discovered something that's easily portable to x86 and will make a massive difference. Now they're secretly producing a new x86 chip that will change the cpu market as we know it...

Hmmm. I don't think the problem is just with design. The problem probably lays with fabrication.

Intel is large enough to both upgrade their fabs and CPU design alternate years. Fabs are becoming more capital intensive to build each year. Furthermore, Intel can afford to make mistakes. This is the reason why AMD is being killed - its 45nm process was way behind Intel's. AMD is now being split up into a foundry and CPU design company (but the future is bleak).

nVidia will never be a serious competitor – it is a fabless semiconductor company (its stuff gets manufactured by TSMC).

The looming Intel monopoly will be worse than Microsofts monopoly. IMHO the only hope for competition is for for companies such as Via to manufacture low-end CPUs at foundries.

How is that possibly a recipe for failure?

Nvidia has a ton of great chipset makers whom have routinely produced stellar, incredible hardware. Intel has far more x86 experience, but Nvidia is no slouch. I don't see how they could possibly fail to produce a chip worth selling at SOME price point. It is only a matter of time before they develop the expertise to sell a chip at ANY price point.