PC chipsets -- Intel hogs limelight as others scramble to remain visible
Mar. 26, 1999 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- In the
mid-1990s, Intel decided that since it provided the star microprocessor
on the PC stage, it might as well provide the supporting cast. In a
short time, the company began producing the lion's share of PC
chipsets.
Last year, Intel's PC chipset sales hit $1.26 billion, up slightly in
a market that declined to $1.7 billion from 1997's $2.3 billion,
according to Semico Research Corp., Phoenix. Intel's huge market share
leaves little room for other players. Only Acer, Via, and SIS are
visible as other actors on the PC chipset stage, with combined 1998
sales of about $300 million.
Several major trends govern what's currently available on PC
chipsets, and what can be expected in the near future, according to
Semico. One is Intel's support for the Direct Rambus DRAM architecture
for high-end desktops. Traditional DRAM architectures have moved data
over a wide bus at a relatively slow rate, but Direct RDRAM pumps out
data at an extremely high rate over a narrow bus. This reduces pin
count but creates more design complexity.
Another development is the integration of graphics functions onto the
chipset. CAD and high-performance gaming applications require a
separate 3D graphics accelerator board, but most businesses and home
users don't require 3D graphics, outside of multimedia presentations.
Merging what has been a separate graphics chip into the chipset
efficiently reduces chip count and design complexity to meet the vast
majority of PC users' needs.
Similarly, audio functions will be absorbed into chipsets. Intel has
already released several specifications on how digital and analog
components in the audio domain will be divided within chipset
circuitry. As 56-Kbit/s modems emerged, their digital functions were
transferred to the host MPU, but Intel's new modem structure easily
allows migration of those functions to the chipset.
Keen interest in new, higher-performance bus architectures stems from
concerns about the number of pins on chipsets. Integrating more
functions on chipsets puts a premium on achieving an optimum pin count
for the number of functions while still meeting die size, package,
performance, and cost objectives.
Given the number of MPUs being introduced or developed by Intel and
its competitors, chipset suppliers, including Intel itself, need to
weigh design options carefully, according to Sunil Kumar, chipset
marketing manager at Intel's Platform Components Division, Folsom,
Calif.
For example, the PC market is dividing more sharply between low-cost,
mainstream, and higher-performance systems, with a number of
permutations within each segment. The "one-approach-fits-all"
philosophy won't work any longer, because the requirements for each
segment are diverging, according to Kumar. Yet there has to be enough
volume emanating from each segment for a chipset supplier to consider
supporting separate architectures for each, he said.
Another design issue: Motherboards containing chipsets must be
consistent and stable, but must simultaneously possess the "headroom"
to support two to three generations of MPUs with different frequencies
over a board's 12 to 18 months of life, Kumar explained. But as chipset
makers move to new technologies, implementation costs go up. At the
same time, platform costs are coming down, leaving chipset suppliers
with the problem of deciding how to achieve a balance between cost and
performance while meeting customers' applications requirements, he said.
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DIRECTORY FOR TOP-RANKED PC CHIPSET SUPPLIERS-
Acer Laboratories Inc.
1830B Bering Dr.
San Jose, Calif. 95112
(408) 467-7456
www.acerlabs.com
Sales contact: Nancy Hartsoch, vice president of sales and marketing,
(408) 467-7450
Products: Aladdin V M1541 northbridge; Aladdin M1543C desktop
southbridge; Aladdin M1533 portable southbridge; Aladdin IV M1531B
northbridge; M3309 MPEG II controller
Developments: Produced a chipset supporting a 100-MHz frontside bus
for Socket 7. Coupled with AGP graphics support, the result is what ALI
calls the highest-performance chipset available for Socket 7. The
company also advanced in the mobile market with its Socket 7 portable
chipset.
Plans: New core-logic products will include CPU and memory
advancements as well as higher levels of integration. New features
being integrated include graphics, audio, modem, and networking.
Support will be provided for AMD's K6 and K7 and Socket 370/Slot 1,
among others. In the multimedia area, ALI is focusing on a new line of
DVD chips and PC camera products.
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Intel Corp.
2200 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, Calif. 95052-8119
(408) 765-8080
www.intel.com
Sales contact: (800) 628-8686
Products: 440BX AGP; 440ZX AGP; 440LX AGP; 440EX AGP; 440GX AGP
Developments: The company launched the 440BX AGP chipset, enabling
the 100-MHz Pentium II and laying the groundwork for the Pentium III.
It also introduced the 440GX AGP chipset for Intel architecture
workstations and servers, and the 440ZX for the desktop segment.
Plans: Will introduce chipsets to enhance the Pentium III platform by
enabling AGP 4x graphics capability, supporting Rambus DRAM, and
expanding I/0 bandwidth. Will introduce a value-oriented line that
integrates graphics and other platform features while maintaining
scalability and compatibility. Intel will also enhance its line of
workstation and server chipsets by focusing on I/0 and memory
performance and expandability.
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Silicon Integrated Systems Corp.
240 N. Wolfe Rd.
Sunnyvale, Calif. 94086
(408) 730-5600
www.sis.com.tw/
Sales contact: Shing Wong, (408) 774-4528
Products: n/a
Developments: n/a
Plans: n/a
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Via Technologies Inc.
1045 Mission Ct.
Fremont, Calif. 94539
(510) 683-3300
www.via.com.tw/
Sales contact: Charles Regula, director of sales, (510) 683-3327
Products: n/a
Developments: n/a
Plans: n/a
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