Hi Michael, thanks for the futures article on Intel products.
Now that I'm at home, I can digest this article a bit more.
(Intel is an investor in CNET: The Computer
Network.)
Not for much longer. Intel's CNET investment is becoming part of their 3Q bottom line. Good, positive article, still.
Intel has already said it will add and integrate cache memory
into its Celeron chips later this year. Dixon represents the
first instance of integration in the Pentium II line.
Looks like the first Celeron with integrated L2 cache (Mendocino) has become a trail blazer for a lot of other Intel chips with integrated L2. Here's hoping it works!
For high-end Xeon processors, intended for workstations
and servers, the next milestone will be the release of
450-MHz processors in September
Not for me! The next milestone for Xeon will be when Intel, and the server manufacturers like Dell, IBM, Compaq, etc. start shipping Xeon with the 440NX chipset, sans the 4-way and up MP bug. Otellini said in the conference call this would be end July (at least he said they'd be shipping the above combination then, gotta be without the bug.). If this happens on schedule, will the street reward INTC with a pop?
450-MHz processors in September. These chips will also be
the first capable of incorporating up to 2MB of secondary
cache memory. These more powerful 2MB chips wills sell
for close to $3,600,
Some have been saying 'who'll buy these "overstuffed" chips for such a high price?' They will sell, because the price of a server that will use them gets quite high, what with all the other stuff that typically goes into the rack with the highest end chips. These would be lots of RAID, uninterruptible power sources (sometimes 2), N+1 or 2 redundant and hot pluggable power supplies, same for fans, power and cooling control and monitoring (PCCM), Intel LanDesk control unit to interface PCCM to a network, tape drives, and still other goodies. Bottom line is that the cost of 1, 2, 3 or 4 $3,600 Xeons with 2MB L2's almost gets lost in the bill of materials overall cost. Well, not quite. As an example of what I'm saying about the highest price server chip selling well, the Pentium Pro, which topped out at 200 MHz and 1MB of L2 cache, sold very well at $2,000 a pop.
Michael, re: "Lordee! Lordee! It looks like Intel is about to raise the bar
significantly in 1999. :-)
Yes they really are! Just need to turn the crank, right?
Tony |
