Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Don Green who wrote (47642)	7/22/2000 12:20:30 AM
From: Don Green	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

DDR chip sets target Rambus-only Willamette Jul. 21, 2000 (Electronic Engineering Times - CMP via COMTEX) -- SAN JOSE, CALIF. - While Intel Corp. has said its upcoming Willamette CPU will work only with Rambus memory, at least one independent chip set vendors-and perhaps a second-is developing parts to link the gigahertz processor with a Rambus alternative: double-data-rate SDRAM components. Via Technologies Inc. and Acer Laboratories Inc. (ALI) now produce chip sets for the current generation of Pentium chips, which use standard SDRAM. At the Platform Conference here last week, both gave advance looks at the new versions of those devices for DDR that will roll out soon. But on the eve of its biggest microprocessor launch in years, Intel finds itself squeezed between its public support for Rambus memory technology and the possibility that a slow Rambus DRAM ramp will drag down the early, high-priced sales of Willamette. The CPU will use a completely new front-side bus, so third-party chip set companies that want to market Willamette-compatible parts must negotiate a new bus-licensing agreement with Intel. Launching next quarter at clock rates north of 1 GHz, Willamette will work only with Rambus memory because traditional SDRAM architectures do not allow the device to deliver its best performance, Intel has claimed. But limited availability of Rambus parts may be forcing Intel to rethink that decision. "We don't believe there will be enough Rambus parts available, and that may hinder the Willamette launch," said Sherry Garber, memory analyst for Semico Research Corp. (Phoenix). "Intel will not sacrifice the Willamette launch in order to support Rambus, and the product just isn't there now." That leaves Intel with the choice of licensing its new bus architecture to outside chip set vendors for use with DDR memory. Intel is already in the final test stages for Tehama, the chip set for the Willamette and RDRAM, and the company has repeatedly stated that it will not design in-house a chip set for DDR memory. Indeed, Intel may be barred by a 1997 deal with Rambus from supporting DDR. A likely scenario Bob Merritt, chip set analyst for Semico, said Via and ALI are the two most logical candidates to take on this task because they already produce Intel-compatible chip sets. A third possibility, Server Works, would not say whether it plans to enter that market. Eric Chang, Via's marketing director, said his company plans to produce a DDR chip set for the Willamette, which will likely be called the ApolloPro 2001 and which should sample in late 2001. He said Via has already asked Intel to grant the company a bus license for the new part, but left open the notion of shipping the chip set without a license. Via incurred the wrath of Intel last year for delivering a PC133 chip set for use with Intel processors. Intel filed a patent-infringement suit against the chip set vendor, claiming that its license did not permit the use of that specific memory format. Via continued to ship the part in large numbers while the legal conflict dragged on. That dispute was settled a few weeks ago. "History will repeat itself," Chang predicted. "We have 40 percent of the chip set market. Intel can't afford to ignore us. They need our help." Nancy Hartsoch, Acer Laboratories' vice president of marketing and sales and chief operating officer, said that her company also is negotiating with Intel for a Willamette bus license, but she noted that one of ALI's key business principles is to respect other companies' intellectual property rights. "We won't put out any parts until we have all the licenses that are required," she said. Merritt suggested that early Willamette yields are one of the key factors prompting Intel to grant the coveted bus licenses. If yields are good, the company will want to sell as many of the chips as they can produce, and that will almost certainly require the support of an alternate memory format like DDR. "Intel is in business to sell processors. They sacrificed some of their market share in the chip set business by sticking to Rambus in the past over PC133," said Merritt. "But there is no way that they will stand by Rambus if it means sacrificing a major microprocessor rollout."