More on Rambus and Willamette (INTEL)
Posted By Brian Neal
Sunday, May 7, 2000 - 12:35:50 PM
Thanks to Harry and David for the following links on the whole Willamette DDR/Rambus situation. First off, this article, from The Register, summarizes the information we've seen over the past few days regarding Willamette's placement changes and DRDRAM production. Indeed, while Rambus is still the official solution for Willamette-based desktop systems, Foster (Willamette-based server version) will utilize DDR SDRAM.
While Micron's Samurai DDR chipset will be produced for the Pentium III, as reported earlier, Willamette utilizes a new 400 MHz bus (100 MHz, quad-pumped), which is incompatible with GTL+. An EETimes report from a few months ago indicates that Intel will be very strict when it comes to licensing its new Willamette bus architecture.
Intel said it will exercise control over the use of the Willamette processor bus, and a company with rights to the current P6 bus will not have rights to build chips for Willamette, said Paul Otellini, general manager of the architecture business group of Intel.
It has been speculated, but not confirmed (to the best of my knowledge), that a 3rd-party such as ServerWorks has received a license for Willamette's bus and will handle the development of a DDR SDRAM chipset for the platform. In any event, the fact that Foster will be supporting DDR nearly guarantees that Willamette will support DDR on the desktop at some point. The question, quite simply, is when.
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Is There an MTH in Willamette's Future? (INTEL)
Posted By Brian Neal
Sunday, May 7, 2000 - 4:09:29 AM
Thanks to Kevin for mailing me the link to this article about Intel's future with Rambus. Rambus yields have continued to be especially poor, keeping costs high and demand low. This has resulted in several manufacturers cutting back on their DRDRAM production in favor of the more profitable and prosperous SDRAM market.
The company's next generation Willamette chip is tied to Rambus memory...especially PC800 Rambus. With poor yields and limited support from manufacturers, one has to wonder just how successful Willamette will be, particularly in the mid-range market segment, if it is held back by an overpriced and largely unavailable memory standard. According to the article, Samsung estimates that only 20% of DRDRAM chips now shipping actually yield at 800 MHz. In fact, Micron estimates that as little as 5% of all its production this year will be devoted to Rambus.
At this point, it seems likely that Intel will be forced either to swallow its pride and drop its desktop Rambus platform in favor of an alternative or it will end up swallowing its wallet by subsidizing Rambus premiums with hefty cost cuts to its Willamette platform. There is speculation that Willamette could be coupled with PC133 SDRAM through the use of a Memory Translator Hub (MTH), similiar to the majority of i820 and i840-based Coppermine systems currently shipping. PC600 DRDRAM could also be a more cost effective, though performance prohibitive solution:
Intel customers say the company is hedging its bets by adding support for cheaper, higher-yield PC600 Direct RDRAM to certain Willamette chipsets. What's more, they say, Intel is adding a single-channel Direct Rambus chipset, the Tulloch, to help move the Willamette and Rambus platform down to the sub-$1,500 PC in 2001.
As the introduction date nears, however, Intel's customers are engaging in a quiet but intense discussion over the rumored existence of an enhanced memory translator hub (MTH+). While they disagree whether Intel has committed to the option, several customers close to Intel's product-development efforts say the company is seriously considering a plan to field in the second half of this year an MTH+ to support PC133 memory as an adjunct to the Willamette platform.
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Saturday's News
Micron to Produce DDR Samurai for Athlon (HARDWARE)
Posted By Brian Neal
Saturday, May 6, 2000 - 4:26:19 AM
According to this article, Micron has decided to enter the chipset market itself, with its initial product being a version of the company's Samurai DDR SDRAM chipset designed to support AMD's Athlon. Though the company has previously been relucant to enter the chipset market, it nows sees a substantial opportunity with DDR-enabled Athlon core-logic.
Intel has eschewed DDR-enabled chipsets for its desktop processors, and is instead promoting rival Direct Rambus DRAM and associated chipsets. By contrast, AMD has jumped on the DDR SDRAM bandwagon, and Micron's Samurai chipset could help the company compete against Intel in high-performance PCs and workstations.
Asked why Micron was allying itself with AMD, Klein replied, ?The only reason is that AMD was extremely interested and wanted us to provide the Samurai chipset for Athlon. Intel didn't want to discuss our help with Samurai.?
Though there's currently no arrival date set for the new Athlon DDR Samurai chipsets, they will be produced by an un-named foundry that, interestingly enough, holds a cross-licensing agreement with Intel. Micron plans to authorize this foundry to produce and market Samurai DDR chipsets for use with Intel's Pentium III.
While Micron is eyeing opportunities in the Athlon arena, the company's foundry partner hopes to tie the Samurai to Intel's Pentium III, according to sources. That could pose a threat to the chip giant, which has steadfastly refused to develop a DDR-enabled chipset for its high-end processor. According to observers, a maverick Pentium III chipset supplier could undermine Intel's efforts to jump-start support for Direct RDRAM, and would open a second market front against the company, which already is bracing for rival lower-end chipsets that support DDR SDRAM from Taiwanese IC makers Acer, SiS, and Via.
So, here are some questions... Who could Micron's production partner be? Intel is apparently moving the Pentium III into the low-end, but considering Willamette is being tied to DRDRAM, what kind of an impact could a widely adopted DDR platform have on Intel's future high-end/mid-range chip?
Thanks to Daiki for the link.
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Intel Demotes Pentium III (INTEL)
Posted By Brian Neal
Saturday, May 6, 2000 - 1:56:54 AM
Intel has made some major modifications to its upcoming product lines and roadmaps recently. Previously, Intel's upcoming Willamette processor was meant to be offered as a high-end processor with the Pentium III handling the midrange market. However, things have changed. Intel has cancelled development of a 200 MHz FSB for the Pentium III. Additionally, Intel has stopped work on the Camino-III chipset, which would have provided DRDRAM support for the new bus. The Pentium III is now said to be transitioned to a role as a low-cost, low-end processor (similar to Celeron and K6). The new low-end Pentium III solution will be coupled with Intel's PC133 SDRAM chipset, i820 (Solano-2), which also sports AGP4x.
This re-assignment leaves the midrange and high-end markets squarely in Willamette's court. Willamette will compete directly with both Duron (Spitfire) and Thunderbird. Unfortunately, the quad-pumped 100 MHz Willamette bus will not make it the most inexpensive solution, especially with its reliance on Rambus DRDRAM. Tulloch is Intel's mid-range Willamette chipset, however, it is not scheduled to appear until around this time next year.
With the Pentium III no longer addressing the competitive midrange market, Intel is planning a major publicity campaign to extend the Willamette squarely into the $1,200 to $1,500 territory AMD is targeting with its upcoming Spitfire CPU.
The Willamette, which Intel has described as its highest-performing desktop processor and a showcase for high-speed, 800-MHz Direct Rambus DRAM, is now being assigned the dual task of capturing top-end and mid-range market share from the Thunderbird and Spitfire processors -- the next-generation derivatives of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s Athlon chip, according to sources familiar with Intel's product plans.
Click here to read the full story at EBN. Thanks to Daiki for the news.
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