Intel Creates Secret Chip to Fight Advanced Micro, Paper Says
quote.bloomberg.com
Same story, new article:
Hillsboro, Oregon, Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the biggest computer-chip maker, is secretly developing a new processor that it hopes won't ever be introduced, the San Jose Mercury News reported, citing unidentified sources.
Intel's Yamhill Technology -- a project so secret that the people working on it at a design center in Hillsboro, Oregon, weren't allowed to talk about it in the hallways and had to refer to it as ``YT'' in e-mail -- would combat chips from archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and could be used if Intel's Itanium server lineup fails, the paper said.
Itanium uses a brand-new design that has difficulty running some of today's programs, while Advanced Micro's Hammer chips will easily handle the older software, the paper said. If the Hammer products start to win more acceptance or if Itanium and its successors don't win many sales, Intel will use Yamhill as a Plan B, the Mercury News said.
While Yamhill will be built into the next Pentium chip, planned for 2003 or 2004, the features will only be turned on if necessary and Intel hopes never to reach that point, the paper said.
Intel spokesman Robert Manetta said the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker can't comment on products it ``may or may not be developing.''
Andreas |
