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To: Dave B who wrote (23839)	6/28/1999 6:57:00 PM
From: MileHigh	Respond to of 93625

Intel testing PC133 memory, module makers report By Jack Robertson Electronic Buyers' News (06/28/99, 12:05:20 PM EDT) SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Several memory-module makers said last week that they were shipping PC133 SDRAM devices to Intel Corp. for testing, but it was unclear what Intel's motives are for evaluating a memory it has so steadfastly shunned. Module companies exhibiting at PC Expo in New York said they fervently believe Intel is planning to change gears and support PC133 memory once its 810e chip set, with a 133-MHz frontside bus (FSB), is unveiled this fall. Other exhibitors, including PC OEMs with close ties to Intel, said the company is simply testing PC133 modules against Direct Rambus DRAM, the high-speed memory strongly supported by Intel. Intel has tested PC133 modules from Dane-Elec Corp. (Irvine, Calif.), SuperPC Memory (Westminster, Colo.), and Transcend Information Inc. (Taipei, Taiwan); and PC133 motherboards from Asustek Computer Inc. (Taipei), according to executives from those companies. An Intel spokesman declined to say whether the company has been testing PC133 modules, and referred to Intel's longstanding road map, which shows the company's chip sets moving from support for PC100 DRAMs straight to Direct RDRAM. With or without Intel in their corner, PC133-module makers said they are signing quantity orders from most PC OEMs for servers and desktop models that are scheduled to be introduced this fall. Bill Lee, senior product marketing manager for Gateway Server Products, said Gateway will introduce PC133 memory in a new line this fall. Module makers said PC133 core-logic chip sets would be available at that time from Via Technologies Inc. (Taipei), which will be supporting desktops, and from Reliance Computer Corp. (San Jose, Calif.), which will be supporting servers. Adrian Proctor, general manager of Dane-Elec, said most PC companies will be selling systems equipped with PC133 main memory and a core-logic chip set from either a third party or what Proctor expects to be a PC133-compatible chip set that Intel will ultimately roll out. Intel denied that such a device is in the wings. Still, the big PC133 launch is largely waiting for Intel to come out with its 133-MHz FSB in September, at which point Intel's new chip sets will match the SDRAM's clock speed. The Intel 133-MHz FSB will be introduced with the 820 Camino chip set for Pentium desktop PCs and the 810e chip set for Celeron systems. Once Intel clears the way with its 133-MHz FSB, then any independent chip set vendor is free to connect PC133 memory to the Intel interface, said Clarence Chan, OEM sales manager for Transcend Information. An Intel spokesman agreed this was possible. Via had tried to jump the gun earlier this month by introducing its Apollo Pro133 chip set, which included a 133-MHz processor bus and support for PC133 memory. But Via agreed to hold back the chip set when Intel objected that it hadn't officially granted Via a license to the 133-MHz processor bus. For the time being, motherboard designers can connect PC133 memory to Intel's existing 100-MHz FSB, but Dane-Elec's Proctor said the clock-speed mismatch curtails much of the advantage gained by using a higher-speed memory. Even so, Proctor said he expects to see new sub-$1,000 PCs with integrated core-logic and graphics chip sets connect PC133 memory to the 100-MHz FSB to boost a system's memory bandwidth for graphics applications.