Mobo makers drawn to 845G and cheaper 845GL, related boards on display at CeBIT 2002
digitimes.com
Charles Chou and Emma Wang, Taipei; Christy Lee, DigiTimes.com [Friday 8 March 2002]
Although Intel does not plan to officially launch its 845G, 845GL and 845E chipsets until May, volume deliveries of the 845G and 845GL are expected to start in mid-April, and related motherboards based on the three chipsets will be seen as early as this month at CeBIT Hannover.
According to sources, Dell Computer, which has enjoyed a great relationship with Intel, will introduce samples of 845G-based motherboards this month and begin volume production in April. The move will affect the business of Dell’s graphics card manufacturers.
Along with the long-awaited 845G integrated chipset, Intel will also roll out a cheaper 845GL version. Performance of the two chipsets’ graphics cores is identical, but the 845GL supports only older Pentium 4 and Willamette-core Celeron processors.
Industry sources said that Intel has high hopes for the 845GL, as first-quarter sales of the company’s P4 products have not been as strong as it had expected. The chip maker plans to expand its share in the entry-level P4 market with the cheaper chipset. The 845GL is currently quoted at US$33. However, more discounts may be bestowed upon actual shipment, which is likely to slash the chipset price to around US$30 and the motherboard price to below US$100.
With the compelling price, the new chipset will instantly become a formidable rival for the SiS650 from Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS), which has so far been the only P4-based integrated chipset. At present, all first-tier board makers have shown interest in developing 845GL motherboards, including Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), whose P4 product ratio is relatively low compared to other top-tier manufacturers.
Intel’s price-cutting strategy may raise ECS’s P4 product ratio. SiS is unlikely to give more discounts for its P4 chipsets. Despite the potential setback, SiS has gained a new victory in ECS’s Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)-platform product segment. With chipsets such as the SiS735 and SiS740 being quoted at cheaper prices than those from VIA Technologies, ECS has adopted more SiS chipsets for its AMD-based motherboards at the moment. |
