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

To: cellhigh who wrote (43978)	6/10/2000 5:38:00 PM
From: blake_paterson	Respond to of 93625

Update: Intel looks to close painful chapter with MTH cancellation (Disclaimer: This article brought to you by the same publishing house that brought you DDR Summit 5/2000) ebnonline.com By Mark Hachman Electronic Buyers' News (06/09/00, 04:37:31 PM EST) Intel Corp.'s cancellation of its memory-translator-hub architecture and the delay of its Timna processor should end an embarrassing chapter in the company's history. Following a recall of all MTH-based motherboards last month, Intel took the additional step of canceling the MTH used by the Intel 820 chipset as well as the memory repeater hub [MRH] used by the Intel 840, returning both chipsets to their Direct Rambus-only roots. The Timna, Intel's first integrated processor, will be delayed until the first quarter of 2001 while the chip's memory interface is reworked. Even at Intel's largest customers, sources were ambivalent when asked about the decision. Excluding certain workstation models manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Co., top-tier OEMs had uniformly chosen MTH-less implementations of the Intel 820 and Intel 840 chipsets. Lower-tier and "white-box" resellers, however, were already being asked by Intel to return their products. Motherboard manufacturers, including Asustek Computer Inc. and First International Computer Inc., which had committed to MTH-based designs, now may have to dispose of piles of plastic. OEMs took comfort, however, in the fact that the Timna's delay will allow them to launch the product "the right way," as one source said. While the Timna's low-cost, high-integration approach was geared to the legions of students returning to classes at the end of the summer, the chip's original August/September launch would have missed the "back-to-school" PC qualification and design cycle that begins at the end of June. And as for the chance of lost sales opportunities during the winter holidays, OEMs said they tend to promote higher-cost performance PCs at that time. "It didn't have any impact," one top-tier OEM source said of Intel's decision to delay the Timna. "We didn't have it scheduled in anyway, at least for the home [products division]." Surprisingly, that's the position Intel took as well. Asked at this week's Semiconductor Industry Association annual forecast luncheon about the Timna situation, Intel chief executive Craig Barrett said, "It wasn't going to be a big seller." Barrett also noted that most customers didn't want to introduce a new product during their Christmas holiday ramp.Intel, meanwhile, positioned the delay as a chance to reallocate Timna-dedicated wafers for existing Coppermine and Celeron parts. That went over well with one industry source, who said that given the choice, his company would favor additional supplies of Coppermines and Celerons. He did note, however, that Intel would have to replace the Timna capacity with both Celeron and chipset wafers, which might not alleviate existing supply constraints. OEMs were also hesitant to confirm reports that Intel would essentially replace the Celeron with Timna in 2001, in part because of the company's fondness for the product. As analyst Bert McComas of Inquest Market Research, Higley, Ariz., put it, "We've heard that Intel is going to obsolete the Celeron. If Timna's not competitive, Intel would be killing a very popular product and replacing it with a dog." While an integrated processor that combines the chipset and graphics IC eliminates the ability for OEMs to differentiate themselves in those areas, OEM sources acknowledged that Timna may move their products down another price rung. For now, however, several said they value stability above all else. "The 440BX worked. The [Intel] 815 works. The Celeron works. That makes me happy," one OEM purchasing manager said. "Timna? Well, we're going to have to wait and see."