Intel

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Intel -- still #1 in semiconductors, and no longer complacent about holding the top spot. The company holds the lion's share in the market for microprocessors that go into desktop and notebook computers, and also into computer servers. Archrival AMD has eaten into Intel's market share in recent years, but the big guy has fought back with faster processors and advanced manufacturing technology. Intel also makes embedded semiconductors for the industrial equipment and networking gear markets. Most computer makers use Intel processors; PC giants Dell (18% of sales) and Hewlett-Packard (17%) are the company's largest customers. The Asia/Pacific region generates more than half of Intel's revenues.

Nvidia

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NVIDIA keeps staging new graphics chip invasions. The fabless semiconductor company designs high-definition 2-D and 3-D graphics processors for gaming and industrial-design applications. Its graphics chips, especially the flagship GeForce line, are used by major PC makers, such as Apple, Dell, Gateway, and Hewlett-Packard, as well as in add-in boards and motherboards produced by ASUSTeK Computer and other companies. NVIDIA also provides complementary graphics driver software, as well as graphics chipsets -- clusters of components with integrated graphics functions that aid the operation of PC microprocessors. The company gets about three-quarters of its sales in Asia.