i wonder who will when the race? MY money is on neo since 8-97.
EBN's Daily News Digest
Chip Makers Race Toward
Single-Chip Designs
(5:30 p.m. EDT, 4/10/98)
By Mark Hachman
Under pressure from computer manufacturers to help create
cheaper PCs, chip manufacturers are racing to design single-chip
products that combine graphics and core logic.
At least six major semiconductor companies are working to find
ways to integrate functions such as 3-D imaging with PC
control, either independently or through partnerships and
licensing deals.
In doing so, they are also reviving the idea of a shared memory
architecture, a 1995 initiative that ultimately failed because of
high memory prices and Microsoft Corp.'s reluctance to endorse
the architecture. The price of 16-Mbit DRAMs has since plunged
twentyfold, making the concept attractive again.
The vendors view the integration of graphics and logic as both a
means to cut costs and to differentiate themselves, with each
company addressing the problem from their own market
segments.
For example, executives at core-logic suppliers VIA
Technologies Inc. and Acer Labs Inc. said they will likely show
off a core-logic north bridge with an integrated 2-D/3-D graphics
core at this fall's Comdex exhibition. Even Intel Corp. reportedly
plans a chip set, called Whitney, that incorporates its Intel740
graphics controller into its north bridge, sources said.
But while Intel can combine in-house core logic and graphics
capabilities, competitors said they will have to form partnerships
with other parties. Executives at VIA and Acer Labs said they
will soon be announcing deals with graphics companies to
license cores that they can include in their own products.
Acer Labs, for example, will include such a product as an
extension to its existing Aladdin family, said Nancy Hartsoch,
vice president of marketing at the San Jose-based company.
Although Acer Labs is not officially announcing a product, it
hopes to sample a part in the fourth quarter.
Likewise, VIA is also exploring the integration of graphics into
its north bridge controller. "It would be nice to have a product
this year, but I'm not committing to anything," said Dean Hays,
vice president of marketing at VIA, Fremont, Calif. "Still, it will
happen sooner rather than later."
Integration of core logic and graphics has been tried before,
notably in S3 Inc.'s Plato/PX, a chip that integrated S3's
Trio64V+ controller onto the north bridge. But S3 discontinued
that product last summer after market delays and problems with
Integrated Technology Express, S3's chip set partner.
"We missed the market window," said Glenn Schuster, director
of graphic products marketing at S3, Santa Clara, Calif. But S3
has "discontinued the product, not dismissed the concept," he
added. Taiwan's Silicon Integrated Systems Inc. also
manufactures the SiS6205 graphics chip and SiS5511-5513
UMA chip set, but executives could not be reached for comment.
The Plato project leader now works for VIA, which considers
S3's graphics technology a possible licensing candidate, among
others. "We don't want to be a graphics company - at least not
now," he said. "One of the decision points we have to make is
what kind of 3-D capability each part has. . . . Intel is clearly
pushing the high road, and we don't want to necessarily
compete."
Why pursue such a strategy? "Clearly, cost is the big reason,"
Acer Labs' Hartsoch said. "My guess is that if you put the
graphics into core logic, you'd save about half the cost."
Executives at both companies declined to comment on whether
the chips will be designed for Socket 7 or Slot 1 systems - a
critical question.
"A Socket 7 environment just doesn't offer the bandwidth
necessary for good 3-D graphics," said Peter Glaskowsky,
multimedia analyst at MicroDesign Resources Inc., Sebastopol,
Calif. But Intel has publicly indicated that it regards the Slot 1 P6
bus as proprietary technology, which poses a legal hurdle.
At the very least, OEMs will avoid paying for separate SGRAM
frame-buffer memory and packaging costs.
Glaskowsky said one of the best compromises of performance
and price seems to be the forthcoming 686MXi from Cyrix
Corp., which adds an integrated 3-D graphics-processing unit
directly onto the processor core. The die size is expected to be 90
sq. mm, said Steve Tobak, vice president of corporate marketing
at National Semiconductor Corp., Santa Clara.
Microsoft originally pooh-poohed the idea because the 4 Mbytes
to 8 Mbytes of a 1995 PC's system memory were vital to the
operating system. Microsoft executives were unavailable for
comment.
Virtually all mainstream graphics companies are pursuing similar
products, analysts said. While industry sources reported that
both Cirrus Logic Inc. and ATI Technologies Inc. have similar
integration plans, executives at both companies were not able to
comment.
Trident Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, Calif., plans to
integrate graphics and core logic in a project reportedly called
Green Logic, according to sources.
"There is a dichotomy between low cost and high integration,"
said Gerry Liu, senior vice president of product marketing. That
type of product, although not necessarily from Trident, would
become viable in systems shipping in the fall of 1999, according
to Liu.
As far as Intel is concerned, "integration makes sense where it
offers clear cost or performance advantages," said a spokesman
for the Santa Clara company. "But it is still too early to discuss
specific products or time lines.
thedewar |
