INTEL

DESCRIPTION

Intel is still #1 in semiconductors, but profits and chip demand are shrinking. The company holds about 80% of the market share for microprocessors that go into desktop and notebook computers, and also into computer servers. Archrival AMD ate into Intel's market share for a time, but the big guy fought back with faster processors and advanced manufacturing technology. Intel also makes embedded semiconductors for the industrial equipment and networking gear markets. While most computer makers use Intel processors -- PC giants Dell (18% of sales) and Hewlett-Packard (20%) are the company's largest customers -- computer sales are plummeting. The Asia/Pacific region generates more than half of Intel's revenues.

NVIDIA

DESCRIPTION

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, primarily in China and Taiwan.