Joey And Intel Investors - Intel Attacks the Low End PCs
Paul
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zdnet.com
copyright (c) Ziff-Davis
Intel attacks low-cost PC
from all angles
By Lisa DiCarlo, PC Week Online
01.26.98 10:00 am ET
Intel Corp. is continuing its vigorous
attack on the low-cost PC market, not
just with its cornerstone
microprocessor but also with
complementary chip sets and
motherboards.
In the third quarter, Intel plans to deliver
a low-cost chip set, called the
440LX-R, that will include limited
functionality to help reduce system
design costs, said sources close to the
Santa Clara, Calif., company.
Intel is also developing a specification
for a low-cost minitower PC
motherboard, called microATX,
sources said.
Moreover, Intel is exploring alternative packaging options for
low-cost processors to fit in the existing Slot 1 interface,
company officials said.
These technologies will roll out as Intel continues to push down
microprocessor pricing, with significant price cuts expected in
May for all Pentium II processors and one Pentium Processor
with MMX Technology, sources said.
The new developments are the latest in Intel's evolving strategy
to build products specifically for the low-cost PC segment,
which it refers to as the "basic PC."
But corporate buyers should be aware of the trade-offs they
face--in terms of system performance and expandability--to
gain lower PC costs.
For example, the 440LX-R for Pentium II systems is a
simplified version of the 440LX chip set. It will not support
error-correcting-code RAM or dual processors. Also, it will
support a maximum of two DIMM (dual in-line memory module)
sockets and three PCI slots, sources said. By comparison,
standard ATX boards have four DIMM sockets and up to seven
PCI slots.
Similarly, the forthcoming microATX motherboard features only
two DIMM sockets and four expansion slots, one of which can
be used for accelerated graphics port graphics cards, sources
said.
Minitower systems are typically priced $30 to $50 higher than
their "pizza-box" counterparts. The microATX will reduce or
eliminate that price differential.
"For large corporations on a three-year replacement cycle, this
is a good thing, because when you're buying 1,000 PCs at a
time, $50 adds up," said Ron Lonzo, technology policy and
planning analyst for the state of Wisconsin, in Madison. Lonzo
pointed out, however, that businesses looking to stretch
replacement cycles would not be candidates for such systems
because of the lack of expandability.
Contributing to the nosedive in system prices are big chip price
cuts coming in May, sources said, with the deepest cuts
coming at the high end.
For example, a 333MHz Pentium II, which Intel will announce
this week, will drop from its initial price of $722 to $525 in May,
sources said. A 300MHz Pentium II will be cut $134 to $398,
and a 266MHz Pentium II will drop from $375 to $275, the
sources said. The 233MHz Pentium II, which had an interim
price cut in January, will be cut again, by $59, to $209.
The 233MHz Pentium MMX will drop from $193 to $134.
The combination of these efforts will likely shave at least $200
off new system costs by year's end, bringing low-end to
midrange systems down to or below $1,000, not including
monitor and networking support.
Intel officials declined to comment on unannounced products or
pricing. |
