S3 Inc. and VIA Technologies have formed a strategic partnership to integrate PC graphics and core logic subsystems.

S3 and VIA plan to develop and market a family of integrated products that support both Intel and AMD processors. The two companies expect to introduce the first product in the second half of 1999.

"We expect that the joint S3/VIA chipsets will complement our existing roadmap of graphics-only solutions - and together, we believe this represents the right suite of products for multiple market segments with high-volume OEMs, add-in-card and motherboard manufacturers," said Ken Potashner, president and CEO of S3.

The first S3/VIA product, codenamed SavageNB, will combine the best of S3's Savage4 graphics engine with VIA's Apollo Pro core logic design. By integrating the two technologies, S3 and VIA will seek to effectively combine three components (North Bridge, the graphics controller and frame buffer) into a single chip configuration. In high-performance designs that require multiple frame buffers, this can reduce system chip count by as many as 9 chips, according to the companies.

More information is available at http://www.S3.com .