>re: "We know Intel will be the sole provider of Motherboards for the EX and the Celeron..."
There is no reason whatsoever to believe that this is true, anymore than that Intel is the sole provider of Slot 1 motherboards. Intel sells motherboard chipsets to motherboard vendors, who then make the motherboards (Abit, Asus, Acer, PC Chips, Tyan, etc. etc.). It is apparently true (subject to verification) that the EX chipset cannot support a level 2 cache -- period, either on or off of the chip. However my understanding is that standard PII chipsets (440LX) can also be used with Celeron if desired, but are more expensive than the stripped down EX chipset.
As to whether or not Intel has shot itself in the foot, the verdict will be out for a while. I remember when the 386SX was introduced, the industry was really down on it for a while (go and read some editiorials and columns in back issues of PC Mag). However in 6-9 months, things turned around, and the chip was a commercial success. Celeron is VERY similar to the 386SX in concept, indeed it's probably stronger compared to PII than 386SX was compared to 386DX. |
