Here is the article.Intel offers interim step in transition to RDRAM
Andrew MacLellan
Silicon Valley- With its high-stakes leap to Direct Rambus DRAM coming ever closer, Intel Corp. has decided to offer PC makers a steppingstone, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.
Rather than force all its customers to switch to the new high-speed memory interface at once, the Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker is proposing an interim module design that will enable a gradual transition from older memory chip technology.
Intel's latest approach, which will be detailed at a company conference next week, calls for a board specification supporting memory modules packed with either PC100 SDRAM or the new Direct RDRAM devices, the sources said.
In the meantime, Intel and its memory design partner, Rambus Inc., Mountain View, Calif., have been busily assuring PC makers that the interim design will ease the industry's shift to Rambus memory.
Intel declined to comment on the module plan or whether it will affect the timing of its Rambus rollout, which is slated for sometime in 1999. However, several analysts speculated that the introduction of another, albeit temporary, design could indeed wrinkle the company's road map.
Rambus, which is expected to hand the final Direct RDRAM designs to its licensees later this quarter, would acknowledge only that some kind of a transition is under way.
"Our conclusion, after getting feedback from our customers, is that this transition is a positive and will enable Rambus to enter the market in a timely fashion," said David Mooring, vice president and general manager of Rambus' Personal Computer Division.
Exactly what prompted the move to a temporary module is unclear. Observers cite several possible factors, including PC OEMs' worries that the Rambus adoption schedule was too aggressive, as well as Intel's concern that cash-strapped DRAM suppliers may be unable to begin Direct RDRAM production on schedule.
Charles Boucher, a semiconductor analyst at UBS Securities Equity Research, San Francisco, said the rapid pace of Intel's processor advances may have forced the company to shoehorn in an interim memory design to guard against manufacturing glitches during the initial production of Direct Rambus chips.
"The question is whether Rambus and Rambus suppliers can ramp up to one-third of the industry in 18 months," Boucher said. "I think Intel's going to be delivering PII chips with clock speeds of 400 MHz by the end of this year. In this case, even the PC100 spec may prove to be a bottleneck. Intel needs some kind of improved solution, and if they are unable to ship some form of enhanced memory in 1999, there may be a serious problem."
According to several sources, the new Intel specification will follow its BX chip set and will define a motherboard populated by Rambus in-line memory modules (RIMMs), which are capable of supporting either 800-MHz Direct RDRAM or 133-MHz SDRAM.
Compatibility will be ensured through the use of a Rambus memory interface device, although the SDRAM would only run at about 60% of the bandwidth of an 800-Mbit/s Direct RDRAM. Both the hybrid RIMM module and a follow-on Rambus-only module are said to be supported by Intel's Camino chip set.
The worries of PC OEMs may also be driving the strategy. Some are said to be concerned that the switch to Rambus will require a costly motherboard redesign, and have asked that a common motherboard be maintained through the early stages of the transition.
"The big picture from the OEM side is all about cost," said Kevin Hause, an analyst at International Data Corp., Mountain View. "They like multiple suppliers of low-cost commodity parts. Any kind of proprietary solution or unusual design is going to meet a lot of resistance, although the comfort level varies from vendor to vendor."
Micron Electronics Inc., Nampa, Idaho, said it is in step with Intel's RDRAM plans, but that it is also considering SLDRAM, an alternative open architecture which unlike Rambus memory carries no royalty fees. Micron Technology Inc., which is the majority owner of Micron Electronics, is actively developing an SLDRAM device and supporting chip set.
"RDRAM is wonderful, but it's got a tax attached to it, and I don't like that part," said Jeff Moeser, vice president of desktop products at Micron Electronics. "I think Rambus is the next big conversion we need to make. But the stars will have to align just right in terms of supporting logic and pricing and market demand."
Market research houses Dataquest Inc. and Semico Research Corp. are predicting that even if Rambus and Intel meet their customer design schedules, widespread demand for Direct Rambus chips will not occur until 2000. As a result, Intel may be hedging against late market acceptance by drafting a stopgap design to fill the performance void created by its ever-faster microprocessors.
Others question the ability of DRAM vendors to meet the production goals needed to support Direct RDRAM next year. While Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and NEC Corp. have both said they will have Direct Rambus parts out this year, the companies have been hard hit by prolonged pressure on DRAM prices.
"How is Intel not going to paint themselves into a corner?" asked Jim Handy, principal analyst at Data-quest, San Jose. "If Intel commits to a memory that's not in ready supply, how will they continue to support their customers while they wait for the technology to catch up?"
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