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: Bilow who wrote (63704)	1/4/2001 11:58:09 PM
From: Scumbria	Respond to of 93625

Carl, Thanks for the links. I'm passing them on to the Intel thread. Scumbria

To: Bilow who wrote (63704)	1/5/2001 12:01:10 AM
From: Bilow	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93625

Hi all; eWEEK reports P4 sales "lousy": Sales of Pentium 4 stung by 'lousy' PC demand Ken Popovich, eWEEK January 4, 2001 10:14AM ET Intel Corp.'s newest attraction, the high-powered Pentium 4 processor, flopped in its debut in U.S. retail stores, according to preliminary sales figures. For December, the processor's first full month on the market, the 1.4GHz and 1.5GHz Pentium 4 appeared in only about 1 percent of all PCs sold at U.S. retail, according to data compiled by the market research firm PC Data. Direct-order sales were not included in the figures. By comparison, the Pentium III garnered 8 percent of unit sales in its first full month after its introduction in 1999, according to the research firm. An Intel spokesman declined to comment on sales figures, citing the company's quiet period preceding the release of its earnings in two weeks. The Pentium 4, introduced Nov. 20, is the successor to Intel's most popular processor ever, the Pentium III. Highlighting the importance of the new chip, an Intel executive said at the product's launch that the company planned its "most aggressive ramp ever" to assure high availability "right out of the gate." But some shipments of PC systems featuring the new chip were delayed after a problem was discovered with the chip set packaged with the Pentium 4. "Nevertheless, this is not an aggressive introduction," said Stephen Baker, an analyst with PC Data in Reston, Va.. "It's certainly not the kind of introduction the Pentium III had." Baker said he's doubtful that the Pentium 4 will be able to match its predecessor's numbers anytime soon. "Is 1 percent unit sales going to translate into 8 percent next month? I can't see that happening," he said. A matter of timing? There are several reasons for the chip's failure to catch on, according to market analyst Eric Rothdeutsch of Robertson Stephens Inc. in San Francisco. "First and foremost is the really lousy PC demand currently," Rothdeutsch said. "Second, I don't think the consumers need the high performance that it offers. Third, I don't think the PC OEMs want to offer systems based on Rambus [a more costly memory that is packaged with the Pentium]." Rothdeutsch said he believes Intel was forced to introduce the Pentium 4 earlier than it had originally planned after its rivalry with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. heated up last year as the two chip makers raced to release the first 1GHz processors. Because of that, Intel ended up producing the chip using the 0.18 micron manufacturing process rather than the smaller 0.13 micron process, which can enhance the chip's performance. In general, the current manufacturing process results in a "super big die size," Rothdeutsch said, that is more than twice as large as a 1GHz Pentium III, resulting in higher costs. The Pentium 4 also fails to deliver significant performance advantages over its competitors, he added. "If you look at a lot of the benchmarks, the performance advantages aren't really there today," he said. "So there's no compelling need for PC users to switch over today." Dell: 'We're very pleased' Although the Pentium 4 didn't ring up many sales in the U.S. retail market, a spokesman for Dell Computer Corp. said his company is satisfied with sales of the new processor. "We've actually been very pleased with the demand we've seen for the Pentium 4," said Neeraj Srivastava, director of product marketing for Dell's Dimension systems in Round Rock, Texas. While he declined to reveal exact sales figures, Srivastava said, "We haven't seen the 1 percent thing. We have seen a ramp like the Pentium III, and we expect the introduction of the 1.3GHz Pentium 4 to actually accelerate the ramp." zdnet.com -- Carl

To: Bilow who wrote (63704)	1/5/2001 12:08:20 AM
From: Dave B	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Carl, A lot of people are waiting for DDR to upgrade. Get serious. No more than were waiting for RDRAM. Especially since preliminary reports on DDR have included halted and recalled shipments as well as unexciting benchmarks. Dave

To: Bilow who wrote (63704)	1/5/2001 12:13:47 AM
From: pompsander	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

Carl, I remember all the arguments made over the last year that no one needed Rambus; current SDRAM and bus speeds met the needs of CPUs and applications. Heard this over and over and over again. Why would the advent of DDR change this picture? Why can't you just take RDRAM out of the equation and put in DDR and make the same argument? Certainly not price, not anymore!