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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jim kelley who wrote (42520)	5/19/2000 12:02:00 AM
From: Jdaasoc	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

jim: ASUS says what MTH problem. Intel must be extremely scared if they are buying RDRAM from DRAM manufacturers and giving it to any OEM willing to take it to replace so called "defective" SDRAM 820 MTH motherboards. ASUS response implies that they won't even take RDRAM if Intel gives it to them for free since they do not see a MTH problem. Intel's real reason must be that DDR will be everywhere by the time Willimette rolls out in fall and RDRAM will still be 2-3 M per month if Intel doesn't take serious action to reduce price difference between RDRAM and DDR by boosting production levels now. Please note it looks like ASUS and other Taiwanese vendors, who make up 60% of the 120 M annual PC motherboard market worldwide, are going to replace 820 chipset with VIA's Pro 133A and 694Z chipsets. If VIA can't supply enough chipsets to supply Taiwan's entire demand, Intel may get lucky to sell 810/815 chipsets for another quarter or two. asus.com ASUS Statements on Intel's MTH Issue (May 10, 2000) Critical Announcement Concerning Intel© 820 MTH Issue On May 10th, ASUS made an announcement stating that ASUS is aware of Intel's MTH (Memory Translator Hub) issue and will take proper actions to remedy the situation with customers and end-users. When this issue was announced by Intel©, many customers called from all over the world asking how serious this problem is on ASUS motherboards and what can be done to resolve it. To avoid this kind of unnecessary panic, ASUS would like to clarify some points to ASUS customers and end-users: According to Intel© on May 10th, 2000, the memory translator hub (MTH) chip that translates signals from SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) to the Intel© 820 chipset is defective. The problem results in intermittent "system noise" that may cause some systems to suddenly reset, reboot, or just stall. In some instances it can also "corrupt", or affect the accuracy of, a computer's data. The problem does not occur on the P3C-E/-L/-S/-LS/-D motherboards if you use RDRAM memory instead of SDRAM on a DIMM Riser Card. The potential ASUS products are: P3C2000, CUC2000, CUC2000-M, P3C-E/-L/-S/-LS plus the DR2 DIMM riser card and P3C-D using the DR1 DIMM riser card. You can download the MTH detection utility from Intel's website if you wish to verify the existence of the MTH on your motherboard but this does not mean that your motherboard is defective. Since Intel first verified this problem with the MTH, ASUS has been working with Intel to closely investigate the root cause and the impact. After intensive testing on a variety of ASUS motherboards with the MTH chip, ASUS only found this problem appeared on very few of the above- mentioned products. Of the few that ASUS found the MTH problem on, ASUS found that this problem depends on the type of memory modules and power supply used. ASUS strongly feels that its motherboards are stable enough to prevent the end-user from ever experiencing any problems once they get their motherboards up and running. ASUS has been selling large quantities of MTH embedded products since last November, and ASUS has not received any negative feedbacks or returns due to this issue. Compared with other products, ASUS 820 motherboards did not show any abnormal failure rates. ASUS will discontinue the P3C2000, CUC2000, CUC2000-M series motherboards, and DR1, DR2 memory riser cards to prevent any further concerns over this matter. ASUS requires that all dealers and distributors stop shipping or selling these products as well and follow ASUS' instructions for their return. As far as P3C-E, P3C-L, P3C-S, P3C-LS, and P3C-D are concerned, they are all RAMBUS-based motherboards and ASUS will continue manufacturing and distributing them. ASUS will handle this un-anticipatable matter with the customer's best interests in mind. Any customer of ASUS with the above mentioned products may contact dealers, agents, or any ASUS-assigned party for more information. ASUS customer service departments will also be on standby to answer any questions in case you require further assistance. (2000/05/10)