Motherboard makers asked to increase Socket 423 board production
digitimes.com
Due to the high inventory level of Socket 423 Pentium 4 processors worldwide and the still unstable supply of 478-pin sockets, Intel has decided to readjust the marketing schedule for its P4 products. Taiwan’s motherboard companies said that in the past two weeks, Intel has asked them to raise their production of Socket 423 boards, and also notified them that it will postpone the rollout of its Northwood-core P4 from December 2001 to January 2002.
After encountering P4 component shortage problems, baffled by the gap between supply and real demand for P4 products, and uncertain about Intel’s future strategy for the P4 platform, motherboard makers have become very conservative about their P4 motherboard material preparation and inventory levels. Despite increasing Socket 423 board production, companies are keeping no more than two weeks of materials and stock. Inventory levels of other P4 products are also being carefully maintained at two to three weeks.
Manufacturers said that Intel started shipping Socket 478 P4s in September, mostly to top brand PC companies, while in the clone markets Intel has fulfilled only 60-70% of total demand. As major PC makers turn to the newer P4s, the motherboard makers have not only lowered their Socket 423 board production, but also released part of their processor inventory to the clone markets. According to some board makers, more than 60% of the P4s in the clone markets in Southeast Asia, China and Europe are Socket 423 processors.
Recently, Intel has decreased the shipments of Socket 478 P4s and lowered the price of Socket 423 processors at the same time. First-tier manufacturers said that currently the prices for both Socket 423 and Socket 478 P4s at identical clock speed are the same. However, anticipating the limited product life cycle for Socket 423 P4s, some retailers and distributors have lowered their prices for Socket 423-supporting barebone systems and PCs. With a promised US$10 rebate from Intel, the price difference between Socket 423 and Socket 478 P4 barebone systems and PCs in the Asia-Pacific region has been enhanced to at least US$15.
In response to Intel’s request, first-tier companies such as Asustek Computer, Gigabyte Technology, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) have all been gradually increasing their Socket 423 motherboard production by at least 20%. At present, ECS is still the only top-tier maker that has adopted VIA Technologies’s P4X266 chipsets for Socket 423 boards. But seeing the high market acceptance for ECS’s P4X266 products in European distributor markets due to their better price/performance, other first-tier manufacturers have also tried to compete by providing products based on chipsets from Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) and Acer Laboratories (ALi).
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