Intel's Timna: One size fits all?
Jun. 04, 1999 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- "Timna"
may not have been the wisest name for Intel Corp.'s first integrated
microprocessor.
The successor to a low-end version of Intel's "Coppermine"
microprocessor, the Timna will appear in the third quarter of 2000,
integrating what sources believe to be a Pentium III core, 128 Kbytes
of level 2 cache, a 3D graphics core, and an integrated interface to
Direct Rambus memory, all on a single die.
According to legend, the Timna Valley in Israel housed-what else?-the
fabulous copper mines of King Solomon, a man famous for his wisdom. But
analysts were the ones counseling OEMs to contemplate the implications
of committing to both Intel's graphics core and the Direct Rambus
interface, two critical and especially controversial PC components.
"All of your major design decisions will have been made for you, and
all Timna machines will look the same," said Peter Glaskowsky, an
analyst with MicroDesign Resources in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Sure, the case
may look different ... but it inherently eliminates the differential
between machines."
Buying the Timna's Direct Rambus interface and Intel's graphics
core-the latter never known for its outstanding performance-is thus a
political decision, analysts said. On the other hand, Intel's low-end
integration strategy didn't allow much choice, they added. What is
clear is that the Timna represents the future of Intel's low-cost
Celeron platform. The chip's speeds have not been defined, but the
Timna will ship only in a 370-pin PGA socket, and will be a follow-on
to a 370-pin version of the Coppermine with 128 Kbytes of L2 cache,
scheduled to debut in the first quarter of next year at speeds above
500 MHz.
According to confidential briefings held by Intel with some of its
customers, both the low-end Coppermine and the Timna will use a 100-MHz
processor bus, but one source said a 133-MHz bus interface has not been
ruled out. Sources said they do not know the speed of the Timna's
Direct Rambus interface; 600-, 700-, and 800-MHz Direct Rambus chips
will be available when the Timna is introduced.
Glaskowsky said he expects the Timna core to run at about 667 MHz,
integrating a 300-megapixel rendering core named Capitola, which is
expected to ship in the third quarter of this year as a stand-alone
product.
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