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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GVTucker who wrote (104065)	6/6/2000 11:05:00 AM
From: Tony Viola	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

GV, >Second, I am starting to wonder what it would take for Intel to finally take Rambus out and shoot it. I'm just an indifferent and uninformed third party in this thing, but it seems to me that Rambus has caused Intel much more harm than good. Cool, succinct way to put it (not that it's Rambus' "fault" at all). After all, it is "only memory." Well, before I get jumped, with all the super fast L1, L2 (and L3 sometimes) cache that can be on die, or very close to on die, what IS the big deal about main memory any more? So you pay a 20, 30 or 40 cycle penalty once in a blue moon. Rambus must have the 8 1/2" by 11" glossies in a safe somewhere. Tony

To: GVTucker who wrote (104065)	6/7/2000 3:17:00 PM
From: Tony Viola	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 186894

GV, >Second, I am starting to wonder what it would take for Intel to finally take Rambus out and shoot it. Rambus, there it is again, in the middle of ABN-Amro's downgrade: The problem, Wu said, is the exacerbated memory shortage situation, and the resulting limited supply of the Rambus memory needed for the new chip. Higher prices are making Willamette too expensive for use in the mainstream PC market, he said. "The failure of RDRAM to achieve more than a high-end niche product to date and the looming shortage in SDRAM beginning in the second half of calendar 2000 lasting through at least 2001, present Intel with a challenge for positioning Willamette competitively in mid CY2001," .Wu told clients in his comments accompanying the downgrade. "This is company specific to Intel, but it is no small issue," Wu said. "Willamette is the key next generation of Intel microprocessor." The world's largest chipmaker is expected to introduce its much-anticipated, much-talked-about Willamette processor -- based on next-generation IA-32 technology -- in the second half of the year. Wu thinks Intel will have to change the memory that goes with Willamette, which will not be simple. "This will involve a redesign of the chipsets that control memory function, which will reduce overall performance of the Willamette system making it harder for Intel to price Willamette at a premium to AMD," Wu said. Against that backdrop, Wu also cut his preliminary 2001 earnings per share estimate to $3.75 from $3.90 but noted that the forecast remains above the $3.56 per share First Call consensus forecast. The good news, Wu said, is that his outlook for a strong second quarter and year in 2000, which had prompted the earlier upgrade still holds true. I would like to hear from an Intel system performance architect how Rambus is worth the continuing headache and black eye it is causing Intel. Not that Intel has been executing well lately by any stretch of the imagination, but why tie a supposed great Willamette chip to a chip that's just memory and has so many issues? I agree, take it out and shoot it. Tony