and on Intel:
sharkyextreme.com
Intel: On the Ropes, But Playing Possum?
Intel has shied away from a full on Comdex presence in recent years, and you can't really blame them for their lack of participation at the show.
Lets face it, between their own annual Intel Developer's Forum, Germany's CeBIT uber-show, and a host of other domestic and international commitments each year, Intel's yearly show expenditure budget likely exceeds the entire research and development budgets at some technology-related companies.
Still, rumors and information regarding Intel's future plans began to filter down at Comdex, with the talk centering on the upcoming 'Pentium4' (slang term, NOT the official name) Willamette processor.
What is known currently is that this next-generation IA-32 processor line is the primary focus of the company at this point, and everything possible is being done to accelerate its launch period to 1H/2000.
We've also heard gossip from those close to the company that 1GHz - 1.2GHz will be the targeted introduction speed for Willamette, which does not feature copper-interconnects. Copper interconnects are all about speed, due to their low electrical impedance which can net a 10 to 15% speed boost in MHz versus today's aluminum interconnects.
The fact that Intel could deliver a 1GHz+ CPU by mid-2000 that doesn't utilize copper interconnects is impressive, and gives readers an idea regarding where CPU speeds will likely be as the calendar leads us into 2001.
In the just-released Coppermine product line crystal ball for next year we'll see speeds ramping up to 1GHz and beyond, with 800MHz launching sometime in early January.
Merced is on track for a mid-2000 debut, although MHz levels are currently not verified.
In less exciting Intel news, the much-delayed i820 chipset debuted on November 15th, the first day of the show, and mainboards utilizing the new chipset will begin arriving in resellers hands this week.
Intel has a long road ahead of them in the next six months, as consumers will need to be won over by both expensive RDRAM and the Pentium III processor versus the cheaper threat emanating from PC100-powered AMD Athlon systems.
If Willamette debuts in May or June and is as strong as we've heard it to be in terms of performance versus Coppermine at the same MHz levels, Intel might be able to reestablish themselves as the ultimate performance leader at the desktop level even in the face of the second generation copper-based Athlons that may debut shortly thereafter. |
