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To: Mr. Aloha who wrote (127)	11/4/1997 9:44:00 AM
From: Paul Dieterich	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 582

Intel to produce cheap .25 Pentium II: Intel May Attack Low-End Consumer Market (11/03/97; 3:05 p.m. EST) By Mark Hachman, Electronic Buyers' News Intel this week plans to attack the low-end consumer market with a stripped-down Pentium II module, EBN has learned. Intel is expected to unveil a low-cost Pentium II built upon the Slot 1 interface that eliminates the cache SRAM SRAM from the Pentium II module, according to Charles Boucher, a San Francisco-based analyst for UBS Securities Equity Research. Intel has completed the first round of non-disclosure briefings to financial and industry analysts. The first processors to appear in this form factor will likely be of the 0.25-micron Deschutes generation, according to Nathan Brookwood, microprocessor analyst at Dataquest. "However, by the introduction of Deschutes, the low end might well be 300 MHz," Brookwood said. The new Pentium II will eliminate the cache SRAM and "some of the costly mechanical components" to bring the Pentium II subsystem cost down to levels that are compatible with PC system price points in the $1,000 to $2,000 range, Boucher wrote. The chip would use the Slot 1 interface currently used by the Pentium II. Eliminating the Level 2 cache will result in lowered performance: However, this shouldn't be a concern for OEMs, Brookwood said. In fact, in multimedia applications, the on-chip Level 1 cache can still hold the necessary instructions for processing, while the data typically overflows the cache in any event. "The low-end of the PC market is characterized by features and price, not performance," Brookwood said. "If an OEM can offer Slot 1 and AGP [graphics], who cares what the actual performance is?" In downgrading Intel's stock rating from "buy" to "hold", Boucher raised concerns about the dilution of Intel ASPs caused by Intel's revised product focus, as well as the lower-than-expected price cuts on its processor lineup. These factors, combined with a lack of improvement in PC and motherboard build rates, should pressure Intel's gross margins downwards, Boucher reported. On the other hand, Intel's strategy simply allows Intel to bundle the same processor die with varying amounts of cache -- in incompatible form factors, Brookwood said. "Essentially, Intel can take a stripped-down Pentium II and sell it in the $100 price range," Brookwood said. "They can then add a large amount of cache, and sell it for higher prices." For example, the Pentium Pro with 1 megabyte of cache sells for nearly $3,000, Brookwood added. Note: the Deschutes is still made as far as I know with a mercury-lamp powered .25 micron stepper---but this should be changing. --PD

To: Mr. Aloha who wrote (127)	11/4/1997 1:24:00 PM
From: stan b	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 582

Intel moving notebook chip to 0.25-micron process By John G. Spooner Tuesday November 4 9:46 AM PST Intel Corp. is targeting future versions of its "Tillamook" Pentium Processors with MMX Technology for new classes of mini-notebooks. The new MMX Pentiums, beginning with the recently released 120MHz version, will benefit from Intel's new manufacturing process, officials said. "All of our new processor introductions, going forward, will be 0.25-micron-based," said Frank Spindler, director of marketing for the Santa Clara, Calif., company's mobile and handheld products group. "We will aim for a combination of low power consumption and lower price points. "We see the mini-notebook category as a good, healthy growth area for the notebook market," Spindler added. "We've gone from the classic notebook to a variety of ultra-portable or very thin devices. The mini-notebook is just another option for people, especially those looking for a lightweight, easy-to-carry, secondary PC." Some notebook makers are already tapping into the Tillamook chip for mini-notebooks. Toshiba America Information Systems Inc.'s new Libretto 70CT mini-notebook, announced today, uses the new 120MHz MMX processor. The new Libretto, due to ship in December, also includes a 1.6GB hard drive and 16MB of RAM. It will be priced at $1,999. Toshiba will also drop the price of its current Libretto, the 50CT, which features a 75MHz Pentium processor and an 810MB hard drive, to $1,499, officials said. Hitachi PC Corp. also announced today that it will get into the mini-notebook space. Its model, the VisionBook Traveler, features a 133MHz MMX processor and an 8.4-inch screen and weighs about 2.7 pounds. Pricing will start at $2,500, officials said. The above found at Yahoo news site and at ZDNET site.