this is so funny, i thought i would post it myself...
i was ROTFLMAO.
dan, carl, gv and scumbria here is my gift to you...
Via Unveils Chipsets Backing High-Speed Standard (Update3)
By Alan Patterson
Taipei, Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Via Technologies Inc., the world's No. 2 chipset designer after Intel Corp., introduced its first products enabling the use of high-speed memory chips in computers based on processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Via advocates double data rate, or DDR, memory as an alternative to a standard from U.S. chip designer Rambus Inc. Intel Corp., the world's largest chipmaker, until two months ago endorsed Rambus as the only high-speed memory standard for its Pentium 4 processor. Intel now says it will support Rambus alternatives.
``Via is enabling a rapid industry-wide transition to DDR memory on both the leading processor platforms,'' said Wen Chi Chen, president of Via, in a statement released by the company. ``DDR provides the most appropriate memory solution for solving the system-performance bottleneck.''
The Via chipsets will work with processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.
Support for DDR
Via, along with memory chipmakers including Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Micron Technology Inc. and Infineon Technologies AG, is holding a two-day forum in Taipei to demonstrate support for DDR as the main standard for high- performance servers, workstations and personal computers.
Hyundai, Micron and Infineon are currently involved in lawsuits with Rambus. Hyundai and Micron last month charged Rambus with violation of antitrust laws in the U.S. Rambus filed counter suits against those two companies and Infineon, saying the companies are infringing on patents it claims over a wide range of memory standards, including DDR.
Rambus-standard chips now account for about 1 percent of the memory chip market, InQuest Research analyst Bert McComas told Bloomberg News at the Via event.
>>this one is really really good!!!<<
``Rambus DRAM is only in the workstation marketplace,'' he said. ``There is currently only one chipset supplier for Rambus chips (Intel) and only one Rambus memory supplier -- Samsung Electronics.''
Chipsets manage the flow of information between a processor and other parts of a computer such as memory and the display.
Production of DDR memories is just starting from suppliers such as Hyundai, Micron and Infineon. By the middle of next year, DDR chips should claim as much as 35 percent of the memory chip market, according to McComas.
No Demand
Micron, the world's No. 3 DRAM maker, has made prototypes of Rambus chips, but has no plans to start volume production.
``Our customers have not indicated to us that there is any demand for the chips,'' said Michael Sadler, vice president of sales and marketing for Micron. He declined to comment on the lawsuits between Micron and Rambus.
Supplies of Rambus chips are limited because they are more costly to make compared with alternatives. Limited availability of the chips has forced Intel to support alternative memory standards for use with the Pentium 4 processor, which is slated for release during the fourth quarter of this year.
``Intel will only ship a couple of 100,000 units of the Pentium 4 during this year,'' McComas said. ``By next year, Intel will ship a couple of million during the first half.''
McComas noted that Intel will start production of its own DDR chipset, the Brookdale, from about the second half of 2001. The company until recently said future processors such as the Pentium 4 and its Timna system chip would only work with Rambus chips.
Timna, which combines processor and chipset functions on a single piece of silicon, is slated for commercial production in 2001.
AMD
>>whoops i guess he forgot that he is just about to say that amd is cancelling the chipsets<<
By contrast, Advanced Micro Devices showed more confidence in DDR memory by announcing at the forum in Taipei a roadmap of processors and chipsets supporting the memory standard. AMD, the No. 2 processor maker, said it will aim at new markets for servers, workstations and low-cost computers with chips that use DDR memory chips running at a variety of speeds.
>>this one is real good too...how are they going to take business away from intel by cancelling a chipset?<<
``It's inevitable that AMD will increase its market share at Intel's expense,'' said Mario Martinez, director of product marketing for Hyundai. ``What DDR is going to do is increase their profitability.''
Via follows Taiwan competitor Acer Laboratories Inc., which earlier this year announced a DDR chipset. By the first quarter of next year, the Via DDR chipset should be in volume production, according to McComas.
Micron announced a DDR chipset early this year, but said it would only start production of it if there were no other suppliers. Now that Via and Acer Labs have announced plans, Micron will scrap its DDR chipset.
``We don't want to compete with Via and Acer, who are our partners,'' Sadler said.
i say a hearty welcome to all the DDR they can get to market. RMBS gets even higher royalties on DDR.
unclewest |
