Intel's orchestration -- Camino to debut in two variations, but company delays faster version
Jun. 11, 1999 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- Intel Corp.
will launch its Camino chipset in two stages, thus delaying its support
for high-speed Direct Rambus DRAM by at least a few weeks, according to
a number of Intel customers.
While a version of the Camino, or 820 chipset as it is officially
known, will indeed ship as scheduled during the third quarter, industry
sources said the device will support only 600-MHz Direct Rambus DRAM,
the slowest speed defined in the Rambus memory specification.
A second, full-fledged Camino chipset supporting 600-, 700-, and
800-MHz Direct RDRAM will ship at least a few weeks later, and possibly
not until November, according to Intel customers.
While it acknowledged the existence of two Camino "skews," Intel said
the chipset schedule is still on track. An Intel spokesman reiterated
"that the 820 ships in Q3. We're definitely going to hit Q3." He would
not say specifically when either skew will ship.
At any other time, a staggered rollout or slight delay would be a
minor concern. But with the introduction coming almost on top of the
holiday selling season, analysts worry that even a small lag may hurt
OEMs' ability to ship Direct Rambus-enabled PCs that support the
specification's fastest memory clock speeds. One DRAM vendor said a
two-stage launch could prove "disastrous."
Industry analysts said motherboard vendors should be able to turn
boards around almost immediately upon receipt of the chipset.
"But as far as shipping those boards to PC vendors and the logistics
of getting those PCs on retail shelves by Christmas-boy, that could be
tight," said Kelly Spang, an analyst with Technology Business Research
Inc., Hampton, N.H.
The purported delay would be the latest pothole in the Camino's road
to market. In March, Intel executives delayed the chipset family (both
the 600-MHz Camino as well as the full-speed version) from June until
September. Following that snag, Intel executives have consistently said
that both Camino versions would ship at the same time in September.
Unlike the first delay, however, the latest push-out appears to have
more to do with marketing concerns than with technical issues,
according to Intel customers, which asked not to be named.
Indeed, analysts said that to their knowledge, Intel has worked any
remaining technical flaws out of the chipset. Mark Edelstone, an
analyst with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., San Francisco, said the
so-called B1 revision of the Camino chipset taped out last week, and
that designing 800-MHz Direct Rambus-based Camino motherboards "will
not be an issue" for OEMs.
However, several Intel customers said they have been advised not to
expect high-speed Rambus support with the first version of the Camino.
Instead, 800-MHz Rambus initially will be reserved for high-performance
workstations that will use the Intel 840 chipset, a high-end device
that supports up to 8 Gbytes of memory and which also is expected to
launch in September.
Some DRAM vendors said that by withholding support for 800-MHz Direct
RDRAM in the 820 chipset, Intel is ensuring PC makers will buy the
slower-running 600-MHz chips, which are "down-binned" devices that fail
to meet the timing specifications of 800-MHz Rambus. Since early RDRAM
yields will be heavily weighted toward the slower-speed devices, Intel
is in effect creating a market for chips that otherwise might be passed
over by PC makers looking for more performance.
While Intel would not comment on its marketing strategy, the
company's confidential roadmap indicates that it hopes to drive 600-MHz
Direct RDRAM into PCs selling for $1,500 by the fourth quarter.
Ordinarily, this aggressive track would prove difficult, according to
observers.
At an investment conference in San Francisco last week, Farhad
Tabrizi, director of strategic marketing for memory products with
Hyundai Electronics America's Semiconductor Division, San Jose, said a
128-Mbyte memory subsystem stocked with Direct RDRAM will cost between
$200 and $250 this year, possibly dropping to less than $150 by the end
of 2000. Typically, PC OEMs allocate less than 10% of their budget to
main memory, Tabrizi said, which would limit Rambus to higher-end PCs
well into 2000.
However, by restricting the market for higher-performance Rambus
chips, Intel could govern demand in the PC sector and drive down prices
faster than DRAM suppliers are anticipating-a move that would aid in
the proliferation of Rambus-enabled PCs and workstations alike.
"Everyone who's building Rambus is building this year with the
assumption that there will be a price premium," said Bob Fusco, manager
of product marketing for the DRAM business unit of Hitachi
Semiconductor (America) Inc., San Jose. "If Rambus rolls out before the
Camino, there could be a buildup of inventory."
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Another Change In Camino's Score
- Two Intel 820 Camino chipset versions to be shipped
- 600-MHz Direct Rambus support coming in September
- Faster Camino version delayed
- 800-MHz Direct Rambus will target workstations, 600- and 700-MHz
directed at PCs
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