Hi all; Digitimes says Taiwan to phase out RDRAM after 1Q02. RDRAM to be replaced in mid and high ends with DDR SDRAM:
Intel’s roadmap change makes motherboard makers wary
Samson Yu, Christy Lee, Digitimes.com, October 10, 2001
In its latest roadmap Intel has decided to replace its RDRAM-supporting Tulloch chipset, originally to be launched in the third quarter of 2002, with the Tehama-E and there seems to be no plan to introduce any other RDRAM-based chipset. Taiwan’s motherboard makers said that they will follow suit and gradually phase out RDRAM boards after the first quarter of 2002.
First-tier board makers indicated that Intel’s move is akin to saying that it intends to withdraw the RDRAM specification from the mainstream PC market, since the new Tehama-E, actually based on old architecture, might not be introduced as planned.
Motherboard companies said that shipments of RDRAM products increased in the third quarter of 2001, but the rise in shipments was created by Intel’s massive clear-out of over three million Socket 423 Pentium 4 processors worldwide, rather than growing market acceptance for RDRAM. To speed up the transition to the latest Socket 478 P4 processors, Intel has been shipping its inventories of RDRAM-compliant 850 chipsets and Socket 423 processors, mostly to regional SIs (system integrators).
Intel previously planned to introduce a new RDRAM-based chipset, the Tulloch, in the third quarter of next year to support its Northwood-core P4 processors, whose FSB (front-side bus) speed will reach 533MHz. However, now Intel has decided to launch the Tehama-E, consisting of the north bridge in the current 850 chipset and a new ICH4 (I/O controller hub) south bridge, as its RDRAM solution.
After seeing Intel’s roadmap, motherboard companies have also adjusted their P4 product lines accordingly. Manufacturers said that as Socket 478 P4 processors and 845 chipsets have entered the market, boards with the Socket 423 P4/PC133 SDRAM package have been positioned as a low-end product line, with a price below US$60, while the Socket 478 P4/DDR SDRAM bundle is being aimed at the medium and high-end sectors.
digitimes.com
-- Carl |
