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 (61433)	11/17/2000 10:23:35 PM
From: Don Green	Respond to of 93625

Pentium 4 Expected Monday By Jayant Mathew, Electronic News Nov 17, 2000 --- Intel Corp. is expected to introduce the Pentium 4 on Monday. The company is banking on the Pentium 4 to be the Ferrari of the microprocessor industry and reestablish the chipmaker’s former near invincibility in the microprocessor market. The P4 is slated to debut at speeds of 1.5GHz and 1.4GHz, displacing the pugnacious Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) from owning the fastest chip in the world in terms of clock rate. Moreover, with the P4 architecture’s ability to scale to higher clock speeds, it’s unlikely that AMD will be able to play the clock-rate leapfrog game with Intel as well as it has in recent times. The P4 is cleverly positioned by the market-savvy Intel to follow “where the Internet is going.” Intel’s interpretation of that roadmap is clear; the company believes consumers require the P4 for high-end multi-media applications such as streaming video, audio and video editing, 3D gaming and encoding. And Intel believes the P4 can benefit these applications, which require richer, more-dynamic content and greater graphics usability. One thing is certain: The P4 is definitely not the chip of choice for general-purpose applications such as Web surfing and letter writing. For now the P4 platform consists of the expensive Rambus memory and the 850 chipset. After taking much flak for its flawed memory strategy and its steadfast backing of Rambus memory, Intel has now settled on a three-tier strategy designed to drive the P4 into the mainstream market. And the chip giant seems to have learnt from past mistakes. Intel will not adopt a quick-fix memory translator hub (MTH) solution for SDRAM. Instead, Intel will introduce a chipset code-named Brookdale that will first support SDRAM, and later DDR, by the second half of next year. The P4 is expected to be priced aggressively to take on AMD’s Athlon, which now has the fastest chip in the world. But in an interesting shift in marketing strategy, AMD is expected to highlight performance benefits of the Athlon over the higher clock speed of the P4. “Speed is still the dominant factor in consumers’ eyes but users are now figuring the game out,” said Dan Scovel, semiconductor analyst at Needham & Co. “How quick the change is remains to be seen.” The introduction of the P4 puts AMD on the defensive for the first time since Intel recalled the 1.13GHz Pentium III. The 1.5GHz Athlon is now slated for the middle of next year and this makes Intel lonely at the top. However, Intel’s past glitches continue to haunt the company. “Intel has nothing between 1GHz and 1.4GHz,” Scovel said. “What happens to that space?” Until the Pentium III is reintroduced, that market is going to be a winner for the Athlon. Intel is aware of this and hopes the aggressive P4 prices will keep AMD at bay. The good news for Intel is most OEMs are slated to ship P4-based systems from Monday. And going by the number of software providers showcased during Comdex, Intel seems to have broad support for the chip.