Goutama, All
very interesting article; I know that chipset news was already posted but that
article definitely worth reading unless it was already posted ....
It states that over the next 12 months intel is going to ship only 2mil p4s and
also nice quote about market share and also bit about micron not planning to produce
any rambus.......
Regards
-Albert
Via Unveils Chipsets Backing High-Speed Standard (Update3)
9/20/0 3:48 (New York)
Via Unveils Chipsets Backing High-Speed Standard (Update3)
(Adds comments from Hyundai executive, closing share price)
Taipei, Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Via Technologies Inc., the
world's No. 2 chipset designer after Intel Corp., introduced its
first products enabling the use of high-speed memory chips in
computers based on processors from Intel and Advanced Micro
Devices Inc.
Via advocates double data rate, or DDR, memory as an
alternative to a standard from U.S. chip designer Rambus Inc.
Intel Corp., the world's largest chipmaker, until two months ago
endorsed Rambus as the only high-speed memory standard for its
Pentium 4 processor. Intel now says it will support Rambus
alternatives.
``Via is enabling a rapid industry-wide transition to DDR
memory on both the leading processor platforms,'' said Wen Chi
Chen, president of Via, in a statement released by the company.
``DDR provides the most appropriate memory solution for solving
the system-performance bottleneck.''
The Via chipsets will work with processors from Intel and
Advanced Micro Devices.
Support for DDR
Via, along with memory chipmakers including Hyundai
Electronics Industries Co., Micron Technology Inc. and Infineon
Technologies AG, is holding a two-day forum in Taipei to
demonstrate support for DDR as the main standard for high-
performance servers, workstations and personal computers.
Hyundai, Micron and Infineon are currently involved in
lawsuits with Rambus. Hyundai and Micron last month charged
Rambus with violation of antitrust laws in the U.S. Rambus filed
counter suits against those two companies and Infineon, saying
the companies are infringing on patents it claims over a wide
range of memory standards, including DDR.
Rambus-standard chips now account for about 1 percent of the
memory chip market, InQuest Research analyst Bert McComas told
Bloomberg News at the Via event.
``Rambus DRAM is only in the workstation marketplace,'' he
said. ``There is currently only one chipset supplier for Rambus
chips (Intel) and only one Rambus memory supplier -- Samsung
Electronics.''
Chipsets manage the flow of information between a processor
and other parts of a computer such as memory and the display.
Production of DDR memories is just starting from suppliers
such as Hyundai, Micron and Infineon. By the middle of next year,
DDR chips should claim as much as 35 percent of the memory chip
market, according to McComas.
No Demand
Micron, the world's No. 3 DRAM maker, has made prototypes of
Rambus chips, but has no plans to start volume production.
``Our customers have not indicated to us that there is any
demand for the chips,'' said Michael Sadler, vice president of
sales and marketing for Micron. He declined to comment on the
lawsuits between Micron and Rambus.
Supplies of Rambus chips are limited because they are more
costly to make compared with alternatives. Limited availability
of the chips has forced Intel to support alternative memory
standards for use with the Pentium 4 processor, which is slated
for release during the fourth quarter of this year.
``Intel will only ship a couple of 100,000 units of the
Pentium 4 during this year,'' McComas said. ``By next year, Intel
will ship a couple of million during the first half.''
McComas noted that Intel will start production of its own
DDR chipset, the Brookdale, from about the second half of 2001.
The company until recently said future processors such as the
Pentium 4 and its Timna system chip would only work with Rambus
chips.
Timna, which combines processor and chipset functions on a
single piece of silicon, is slated for commercial production in
2001.
AMD
By contrast, Advanced Micro Devices showed more confidence
in DDR memory by announcing at the forum in Taipei a roadmap of
processors and chipsets supporting the memory standard. AMD, the
No. 2 processor maker, said it will aim at new markets for
servers, workstations and low-cost computers with chips that use
DDR memory chips running at a variety of speeds.
``It's inevitable that AMD will increase its market share at
Intel's expense,'' said Mario Martinez, director of product
marketing for Hyundai. ``What DDR is going to do is increase
their profitability.''
Via follows Taiwan competitor Acer Laboratories Inc., which
earlier this year announced a DDR chipset. By the first quarter
of next year, the Via DDR chipset should be in volume production,
according to McComas.
Micron announced a DDR chipset early this year, but said it
would only start production of it if there were no other
suppliers. Now that Via and Acer Labs have announced plans,
Micron will scrap its DDR chipset.
``We don't want to compete with Via and Acer, who are our
partners,'' Sadler said.
Via's shares fell 1.7 percent to NT$395. |
