UPDATE 2-Nvidia wins more notebook designs for 2011

* Nvidia says won 200 notebooks that use Sandy Bridge

* Up from 125 notebook GPU wins in 2010

* OEMs seen offering GPU and Sandy Bridge models (Adds quotes, detail on chips, background, byline)

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Graphics chip designer Nvidia (NVDA.O) said it has chalked up 200 design wins for notebooks due out in 2011 that also feature Intel's (INTC.O) upcoming Sandy Bridge microprocessor.

Nvidia, which competes against Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.N), won designs to include its graphics chips, or GPUs, in about 125 notebook personal computers for 2010, Drew Henry, in charge of Nvidia's desktop GPU business, told Reuters.

"The number of discrete GPU models in development with OEMs using this new (Sandy Bridge) CPU architecture is the highest it's been," Henry said.

Intel's next-generation Sandy Bridge processors are due to ship heavily beginning in early 2011 and include graphics processing capability.

Intel would like to see Sandy Bridge counted on to handle the mainstream graphics needs of computers built over the next few years, making lower end discrete graphics cards unnecessary and potentially hurting Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

Santa Clara, Calfornia-based Intel, which makes the microchip brains for 80 percent of the world's PCs, says the Sandy Bridge chips have been well received by original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, that make notebooks.

But manufacturers may hedge their bets by offering notebooks with discrete graphics chips as well as models that rely only on Sandy Bridge.

"OEMs are going to put out a lot of different types of models in the first half of the year. They're going to sit back and see which ones sell and then they're going to go with that," said Wedbush analyst Patrick Wang.

Last month, Nvidia chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang told analysts he expects to take his company's share of the notebook GPU market to an all-time high of more than 60 percent. Nvidia's current notebook market share is around 30 percent, according to Wang.

Market-share gains from increased notebook design wins would come at the expense of Advanced Micro Devices. (Reporting by Noel Randewich)