Thanks to Burt....
How much old RAMBUS ended up in the DUMPSTER?
No wonder the FLOPPERMINE IS LATE...
No RAMBUS...Intel Stockpiling until there is RAMBUS...Why let the VIA chipset get a foot hold...Just as I thought. Intel wants to control it all and hung out the OEMs to dry in the meantime!
"Rambus-powered PCs in the works Updated 5:02 PM ET November 1,
1999
By John G. Spooner, ZDNet News
PC makers are gearing up to introduce new desktops based on Intel
Corp.'s 820 chip set.
The twice-delayed chip set, whose announcement is expected in two
weeks, will be at the core of new high-end PC models from a number of
original equipment makers. Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ), Dell
Computer Corp. (NASDAQ:DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Co.
(NYSE:HWP), are all expected to support the chip set. They will likely
announce these models in tandem with Intel's 820 announcement.
Compaq, for example, will announced Deskpro desktops and
workstations with the chip set and Intel's new memory technology,
Dynamic Rambus DRAM, according to sources. Pricing for the new PCs
is not available.
The new chip set is significant for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) because it
replaces the aging 440BX chip set, which offers a 100MHz system bus
and support for synchronous dynamic RAM. For end users, the 820's
faster 133MHz bus and Rambus support promises to increase
performance of high-end PCs.
Memory costs an issue Therein also lies the problem. Rambus memory
has been criticized for what will be a high initial cost for only a small
overall improvement in performance. At the same time, Rambus has
been at the root of both 820 delays.
The 820's introduction was pushed back from June until September due
to problems getting the technology into volume production. It was
delayed again due to memory errors that cropped up when three Rambus
memory modules -- or RIMMs -- were used on the same motherboard.
"Potentially (820) is much faster (than 440BX), clock-rate wise. But it
does work differently, so it depends on the applications," said Mike
Feibus, principle at Mercury Research Inc. Applications that include
intense graphics or streaming video, for example, would see the greatest
improvements.
Intel would not comment on timing for the release of the 820. However,
"We expect to introduce 820 before the end of the year," said spokesman
Dan Francisco. "We're completing final validation and we've made
significant progress."
The new PCs will utilize only two RIMMs, sources said, instead of the
planned three RIMMs. This is in keeping with the fix Intel said it was
exploring when it announced the chip set would be delayed last
September. Depending on the density of memory used, each slot can
hold up to 256MB of memory.
No testing errors One corporate information technology manager who
has conducted extensive testing of Rambus memory in HP, Dell and
Gateway Inc. (NYSE:GTW) desktops, along with motherboards from
several manufacturers, told ZDNN that he discovered no errors with any
of the machines or the boards.
Rambus was reportedly at the heart of another reported anomaly, this
one a caching error seen with 733MHz Pentium III chips, the 820 chip
and early Rambus modules. This anomaly, first reported in the German
magazine c't, happens only when the older Rambus modules are used
and should not effect end users who purchase new PCs with the latest
Rambus modules, Intel officials said.
"With newer Rambus modules everything works fine," confirmed the IT
manager who tested the 733MHz Pentium III and 820 with Rambus
memory. "It seems that only the combination between Camino-Board
and older Rambus modules is causing the cache error."
Intel chose Rambus over Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic
RAM, another next-generation memory technology, because it believes
that Rambus will offer greater performance in the form of data
bandwidth. Greater bandwidth allows the PC to move data in and out of
the processor faster, which translates into overall greater performance.
The 820 also supports a 100MHz bus and 100MHz SDRAM as well,
should a PC maker decide to configure a PC that way. Intel has also said
that it will support 133MHz SDRAM in a chip set due out next year.
VIA chip set Meanwhile, VIA Technologies Inc.'s Apollo Pro 133 and
Apollo Pro 133A chip sets are being used widely by PC makers,
including HP, IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Micron Electronics Inc.
(NYSE:MU). They will soon be offered by Compaq, sources said. The
VIA chip sets support a 133MHz bus, along with 133MHz SDRAM,
which will make for a less expensive PC than one with the 820, Rambus
combination, the ompanies say. HP, for example, will offer the chip set
in a high-end Pavilion PC, model 8595c, later this month. With a
733MHz Pentium III chip, 128MB of RAM, a 32GB hard drive and a
DVD-ROM drive, it will cost $2,399.
Intel says, however, that the company is no longer under license to sell
chip sets for Pentium III processors. VIA was granted a contract to
licensed the P6 bus, the system bus used with Pentium III chips, but later
violated the terms of the license by marketing products that were not
covered under the P6 license. Intel revoked the license after
negotiations were cut off and then sued VIA for breach of contract. The
company filed additional related suits against VIA on Monday in the
United Kingdom and Singapore.
Separate suits were filed against First International Computer Inc. [FIC]
and KMS Components Ltd. in the U.K., as well as A Quest Computer
Pte Ltd., Jet Systems Pte Ltd. and Jetway Information Co. Ltd. in
Singapore. Intel filed suit against FIC America and Everex in the United
States. The suits are separate in nature, focusing on system level patents
for memory and graphics, according to Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy.
"The final approach here, in all cases, is part of our obligation to our
shareholders to protect out intellectual property," he said. Industry
observers, however, said the suits may be related to the litigation against
VIA.
Meanwhile, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD), Intel's chip
rival, will support both Rambus and DDR memory; however, it appears
that the company will support DDR first, sometime next year. AMD's
fastest Athlon chip is now available at 700MHz. The company couples
that with a 200MHz system bus."
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