Aaron and Intel Investors - Intel's Slot 2 May Hold DUAL Katmai Processors
The Slot 2 cartridge may be more than just a Big Slot 1 with Multi Processor Support - It may actually house 2 Katmai Chips internally. The CAMINO chip set for Katmai, and RDRAM Support, are also mentioned.
Any guesses as to what a Dual Katmai SEC cartridge at 533 MHz may sell for?
It may take months before those appear in the sub $1000 PCs!
Paul
PS - Read the LAST Paragraph for a really GOOD LAUGH!
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techweb.com
Intel Plans Outline Dual Katmai
Workstations
(02/09/98; 11:52 a.m. EST)
By Mark Hachman, Electronic Buyers' News
Now that National Semiconductor has won the
legal right to reverse-engineer Intel's
microprocessors, Intel is telling its customers
that it can double the number of
microprocessors in its Pentium II module.
In its confidential road maps, Intel has begun
describing workstations for mid-1999 that will
make it possible to put two Katmai processors,
with associated L2 cache, in a single module.
The module would be manufactured to meet the
Slot 2 design, allowing room for an additional
processor and full-speed cache SRAM.
Analysts predict that significant re-engineering
of the module's heat sink would be required to
adequately cool the chips.
Intel's OEM road maps typically provide
forecasts about a year in advance, so details of
the dual-processor modules are only now being
described. In addition, industry sources said
OEMs and Intel alike have been focused more
on the successful launch of the company's
440BX chip set, which includes a 100-MHz
interface.
In mid-1999, however, a Katmai-based
entry-level workstation is being described by
Intel as "DP Ready," allowing a user to plug in a
dual-processor module at a later date. A
midrange workstation by mid-1999, Intel
believes, should be "DP Populated," with a
dual-processor module already in place.
Without commenting on Intel's specific product
plans, a spokesman for the Santa Clara, Calif.,
company did confirm that "DP" stood for "Dual
Processor."
The new modules will connect to an as yet
unnamed core-logic chip set, code-named
Camino, that will also play a key role in Intel's
transition from DDR DRAM to Direct Rambus
DRAM.
Dean McCarron, principal at Mercury
Research, in Scottsdale, Ariz., said that based
on his conversations with Intel, the chip set
should also include an AC '97 audio interface
with the core logic. However, Intel's road map
does not confirm this, according to sources.
Intel and its third-party vendors currently
manufacture core-logic chip sets and
motherboards that enable, for example, two
Pentium Pros to work in parallel using separate
sockets on the board. However, Intel has
apparently abandoned that strategy with its
SEC interface. "Intel executives have shown us
diagrams of these dual-processor Pentium II
modules that convince us that that is indeed the
case," one source said.
For buyers, the dual-processor modules
provide yet another option to differentiate their
end products, according to analysts. "It's just
another means to add incremental
performance," McCarron said.
The first details of Intel's new strategy came in
the same week that the company settled its
patent dispute with Cyrix. Intel agreed to extend
its existing patent cross-license agreement with
Cyrix through at least 2000, according to both
parties.
"All patents and intellectual property between
both companies have been exchanged," said
Steve Tobak, vice president of corporate
marketing at Cyrix, in Santa Clara. "It's the best
solution, avoiding the distraction of
unnecessary litigation."
Although all patents have been exchanged,
Tobak said how those are used to design
products is termed a "trade secret" and is not
covered by the agreement.
"So, designing a Slot 1 microprocessor using
the equivalent of the [Pentium Pro] bus is
certainly a doable option and one we're
considering," Tobak said. "But we would have
to do it without Intel." Advanced Micro Devices
has also said it will make an SEC cartridge
containing its K6 processor, which will use the
EV6 protocol designed by Digital
Semiconductor. The resulting "Slot A" would
also accept an Alpha processor in a similar
package.
Analysts said that Intel's multiprocessor strategy
could be emulated by both AMD and Cyrix. |
