Hi all; I guess I left off Tenchusatsu when I compiled the lists of thread moron statements about Timna. [Estephen: #reply-14483662, Steve Lee: #reply-14483636, jim kelley: #reply-14483618, sylvester80: #reply-14483598 ] The reason is that I don't consider him one. In fact, he quit carping about the product about the time it became obvious to all that it was a dead duck.
At one time, Tenchusatsu felt that Timna was really important to the success of RDRAM, and to that of Intel in the low end. Guess he's changed his mind:
Nov 24, 1999
Based on the popularity of the 810 platform, I'd say that Timna will be an instant hit once it arrives in the market. #reply-12091481
The probable reliability of Timna-based PCs will be very attractive for OEMs. They won't have to spend as much on servicing customer problems. And that leads to higher profit margins and/or lower prices. #reply-12091956
Nov 26, 1999
Furthermore, how come Intel's upcoming Timna is going to have an integrated RDRAM controller, instead of an SDRAM controller? #reply-12107352
Dec 20, 1999
However, I'd love to see low-cost, high-volume platforms from Timna-based PCs to Playstation 2 consoles really drive Rambus' acceptance into the mainstream in mid-2000. If that happens, and the prices of RDRAM fall to a few notches above SDRAM, then we may see Rambus thrive after all! #reply-12342160
Dec 21, 1999
Timna should be very successful, based on the (rather surprising) success of the 810 platform. #reply-12351846
Jan 13, 2000
By the time AMD's low-end Athlon (code-named Spitfire) is released, Intel will be close to releasing Timna. Timna integrates the CPU, the graphics controller, and the memory controller onto one die. No doubt Timna-based PCs will be even cheaper than Spitfire-based PCs. #reply-12562954
Jan 26, 2000
Yet despite that, I believe that Timna will be very successful. (Maybe even a little too successful, given the low margins.) #reply-12681743
Jan 31, 2000
Timna: Mid 2000 #reply-12733548
Feb 3, 2000
I really can't see how Spitfire is going to be successful with Via entering the low-end and Intel introducing Timna. #reply-12762557
Feb 3, 2000
As for Timna, I think Intel is aggressively going to replace the entire Celeron line with Timnas. #reply-12772699
Feb 4, 2000
Timna will be going into slim-line PCs, "legacy-free" PCs, and the iMac knock-offs. #reply-12774534
Feb 11, 2000
Next week is the big Itanium, Timna, and Willamette brag-fest. #reply-12848268
I think Timna WILL completely replace Celeron, and in fact, I think the transition will occur fairly rapidly once Timna is released. This has been Intel's intent all along. #reply-12850709
Feb 15, 2000
But Timna-based PCs may start off using SDRAM via a memory translator. This will be the interim solution until RDRAM prices come down (if ever). #reply-12877156
Feb 17, 2000
I think AMD should still do very well in the mainstream desktop market. They really ought to steer clear of Coppermine-128 and Timna, since Intel can really crank up production on those and drop prices like crazy. #reply-12903420
Also, I suspect Timna will quickly replace the entire Celeron line. #reply-12904354
That would mean that Intel can finally ditch that memory translator, go native RDRAM on Timna, and push the performance of sub-$600 PCs to very high levels. #reply-12906860
Feb 18, 2000
When I heard that those are the motherboards which feature the MRH-S translator, I didn't mind much. You see, I was never fond of that translator anyway.
Well, at least it will still serve a very useful purpose for Timna-based PCs, at least until RDRAM prices can come down. #reply-12908273
Feb 25, 2000
On the other hand, the transition of Timna from SDRAM to RDRAM will mark a MAJOR milestone for mainstream acceptance of RDRAM. Although the transition isn't a 100% guarantee (what is a 100% guarantee in life, anyway?), it will definitely be a goal that Intel and Rambus will shoot for. #reply-12970507
Mar 14, 2000
Tell Intel what a huge mistake they made in going with an RDRAM interface in their upcoming Timna integrated processor. #reply-13201704 [LOL!!!]
Mar 23, 2000
So far, future projects from Intel which support Rambus include:
...
2) Intel's Timna processor with a native RDRAM interface, paired up with SDRAM upon release through a translator, then going native RDRAM in 2001 or whenever RDRAM prices drop to an acceptable level for the low-end. #reply-13267022
Mar 26, 2000
By the way, I can forsee Timna possibly replacing the entire Celeron line in short order, leaving Pentium III to fill the gap between Timna and Willamette. #reply-13284731
Mar 27, 2000
Spitfire can't compete against Celeron in pure cost (both CPU and platform), but AMD can market the MHz and per-clock performance advantage. That should make Spitfire an interesting competitor in the low-end until Timna shows up. #reply-13293192
Mar 31, 2000
My guess was that Timna would take over the whole Celeron line eventually. This only makes sense, as Intel will eventually push Timna for low-end, Coppermine for mainstream, and Willamette for high-end. #reply-13320204
Apr 11, 2000
That's why I think Timna will initially employ the RDRAM-to-SDRAM translator until RDRAM prices come down. Unfortunately, performance will be impacted, and the translator does defeat the purpose of integration somewhat. But Intel is more concerned with cost than performance, and adding the translator to a motherboard shouldn't be that costly. #reply-13393727
Aor 20, 2000
As for the 820 replacement, there is a Camino2 in the works. It will probably be called 820e, and it will feature a new south bridge (for Ultra ATA-100 and USB 2.0 support) as well as updates to allow for three RIMMs on one motherboard. Maybe the guys in Folsom will also be able to improve upon 820's low-bandwidth latency, if possible. #reply-13472647
Apr 26, 2000
Pat Gelsinger predicts that Timna will be able to eliminate the translator component and support RDRAM natively in 2001. That's my hope as well. #reply-13500331
Apr 26, 2000
I'm sure that even a 50% premium of RDRAM over PC100/PC133 SDRAM would be enough to make Timna/RDRAM an excellent platform. ...
Will we ever see that day? I sure hope so!#reply-13500362
May 5, 2000
As for MTH, yeah, it's a shame that Timna isn't going to debut on RDRAM. However, Intel seems pretty confident that in 2001, Timna will make the transition to RDRAM. #reply-13588591
May 6, 2000
But what if Timna w/ SDRAM beats existing Celeron/810 systems? That would mean Timna will become a very strong performer once it transitions to RDRAM. #reply-13594832
May 8, 2000
I also think PC600 RDRAM should be used in Timna, since that would make a much better performer than Timna w/ MRH-S and SDRAM. #reply-13631678
-- Carl
P.S. Tenchusatsu on the subject of RDRAM going into mass production:
Mar 15, 2000
Now it seems Hyundai is going along with the rest of the crowd and ramping up RDRAM production. And Micron also announced they too will be ramping up RDRAM production soon. Heck, even AMD said that RDRAM remains an option for them, even though they've been rah-rah on DDR, perhaps to perpetuate their "Anything But Intel" image. #reply-13209715 |
