Animation studio DreamWorks has announced that it is switching from AMD to Intel chips for its computers.

The studio had just reached the end of a three-year deal with AMD to provide its hardware and has decided not to renew the contract.

DreamWorks said that it wants all of its films to be in 3D next year and that Intel's processors would help it achieve this goal.

"Our objective is to significantly heighten the movie experience using ground-breaking 3D filmmaking tools," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation.

"Technology plays a significant role in enabling our artists to tell great stories. By using Intel's computing products, we will create an and innovative way for moviegoers to experience our films in 3D."

Developing animation in 3D uses huge amounts of computer power as different images have to be prepared for each eye.

Over the next 18 months DreamWorks will strip out its dual-core AMD Opterons and replace them with eight-core Intel Nehalem chips and the forthcoming Larrabee graphics processors that will contain from 10 to 100 cores.