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| Top Stories for July 30, 1999 (details below) | |
| Wall Street Journal |
Burdened AMD seeks production partner Chip maker considers seeking a partner in its new $1.8 billion factory in Germany. |
| InfoWorld Electric | Intel adds on-ramps to processor road map |
| c't Magazine |
Processor Whispers About Fireworks and Baptisms of Fire |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | Intel preps 27 Sept Coppermine debut |
| The Register | AMD brings forward Athlon to 10 August |
| The Register | Rambus to win memory war |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of July 26, 1999 |
Older News |
| July 30, 1999 | ||
Burdened AMD seeks production
partner
|
Advanced Micro Devices Inc., looking to reduce financial pressures, is considering seeking a partner to take a stake in a new $1.8 billion chip factory in Dresden, Germany.
Fran Barton, chief financial officer of the Sunnyvale, Calif., chip company, confirmed in an interview that the company is analyzing its manufacturing capacity and whether it needs to find a partner, especially if it turns out the company might have excess capacity. The massive Dresden factory comes on line in the first quarter of 2000. |
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Intel adds on-ramps to processor road mapBy Ephraim Schwartz and Michael Lattig July 28, 1999 |
Intel is planning a busy summer and early fall. The chip maker is preparing to officially announce the launch date and pricing details for its eight-way Xeon
processor for servers on Aug. 23; mobile Celeron processors on Sept. 15; and a new chip set for Pentium III, which will support 133-MHz frontside bus
speeds and higher speed memory on Sept. 27.
On Monday, Aug. 2, as reported previously, Intel is also announcing a 600-MHz version of the Pentium III and a 500-MHz version of its desktop Celeron chip. |
|
Processor Whispers
|
Intel does not want to leave the summer show to AMD and ignites the Pentium-III surprise rocket with 600 MHz; AMD
is happy to be able to offer Athlons in copper technology this year already; Motorola also joins the summer theatre:
Altivec is coming, not coming, coming after all - and IBM is cleaning up.
Intel is looking forward to quite positive numbers. Compared to the 'catastrophic' quarter last year the profit of the Californians should have increased to probably 2 Billion Dollars, something competitor AMD with a loss of about 200 Million Dollars can only dream of. And just to make dreaming a little bit harder for the competitor Intel on the spur of the moment and unexpectedly launches hot fireworks towards the sky as a barrage so to speak: the Celeron-500 and the Pentium III with 600 MHz. The special thing about it was not only the 'random' date just before AMDs Athlon premiere but also the new price supposedly just below the AMD processor and therefore more than 15 percent below the originally planned introduction price. Intel is showing quite an unexpected amount of flexibility here. |
|
| The Register Files | ||
Intel preps 27 Sept Coppermine debutBy Tony Smith July 29, 1999 |
Intel will follow up its 2 August 600MHz Pentium III and 500MHz Celeron launch with
the announcement of its eight-way Xeon server chip on 23 August, mobile Celerons
on 15 September and the 133MHz 820 chipset on 27 September.
The Xeon announcement will see Chipzilla unveil the ship date and pricing for a 550MHz version of the CPU. This will feature the PIII's Streaming SIMD Extension, and support a 100MHz frontside bus, up to 2MB of cache and eight-way multiprocessing. |
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AMD brings forward Athlon to 10 AugustBy John Lettice July 29, 1999 |
AMD will finally take the wraps of the Athlon K7 on Tuesday 10 August, according to
reliable but eminently impeachable sources. Benchmark data, however, continues to
leak out early.
The company had originally been planning the big push for the end of August. As this has now been brought forward by three weeks, the implication is that AMD's yields on the K7 are better than initially planned for, and that it feels sufficiently sure of supply to counter the various pre-emptive strikes Intel has been mounting. |
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Rambus to win memory warBy Drew Cullen July 29, 1999 |
PC133 may be winning the memory battle, but it certainly won't win the war against
Rambus, according to Cahners In-Stat Group.
The market research firm predicts Rambus will "capture the leading market share over the next several years". It forecasts 60 per cent market share, but then sits on a couple of fences with some scenarios under which competing architectures could "capture sockets currently forecasted for RDRAM". This could see RDRAM end up with anything between 33 and 73 per cent of the memory market. |
|
| July 29, 1999 | ||
IDT bails out of microprocessors; CEO Perham resignsBy Matthew Sheerin July 14, 1999 |
In a blockbuster announcement late Wednesday, Integrated Device Technology Inc. said it was exiting the
microprocessor market and replacing longtime president and chief executive Len Perham.
At the same time, the Santa Clara, Calif., company reported relatively flat sales and earnings results. In a statement, Perham said the company would either sell or license its WinChip X86 microprocessor technology and certain assets of its Centaur Design subsidiary. |
See Today's Related Stories |
Intel's Grove: Merced Silicon Few Weeks AwayBy Steven Burke July 19, 1999 |
Intel Corp. Chairman Andrew Grove said the first silicon of Intel's IA-64 Merced processor will roll
off the production line in the next few weeks.
Appearing via a live video feed at CA World 99 here, Grove said he got the Merced update at a business update meeting earlier in the day. Merced is poised to be the engine for E-Business, Grove said. The processor's 64 bit address space is well-suited to driving the database and transaction intensive E-Business environment, he said. |
See Today's Related Stories |
Intel prepares 'Merced' accessoriesJohn G. Spooner July 26, 1999 |
Intel Corp.'s first 64-bit processor may be a year away, but the semiconductor giant is already ramping up supporting products
and technologies for the chip.
At its Intel Developers Forum in Palm Springs, California next month, the company is expected to announce a host of new products and technologies, including 64-bit development tools. The company will also disclose plans for PC designs, processors and chip sets. Of particular interest to developers will be the unveiling of details about Intel's first 64-bit processor, code-named Merced, said Pat Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of the Santa Clara, California company's desktop products division. Intel will provide advice on porting 32-bit applications to Merced and detail features such as its instruction set. Merced documentation will also be available. |
|
Analysis: Intel positioned to accept PC133 SDRAMs as Rambus prequelBy David Lammers and Mark Carroll July 22, 1999 |
With the introduction of Rambus-based desktops only about 70 days away, Intel Corp.
acknowledged this week that the price of the Rambus technology remains too high for general adoption, and
signaled its intent to support PC133 SDRAMs as an alternative and complementary memory architecture by the
first half of 2000.
That scenario will create a memory technology wrestling match, played out next year in a marketplace where Intel exerts considerable sway, pitting the faster, more expensive Rambus DRAMs against the much cheaper 133-MHz synchronous DRAMs. With personal computers rapidly becoming a consumer item for which cost is a prime consideration, some analysts question whether Intel will be able to establish the Rambus technology in the mainstream PC market. |
See Today's Related Stories |
Intel's PC133 support could aid transition to Direct RambusBy Jack Robertson and Andrew MacLellan July 20, 1999 |
Intel Corp.'s decision yesterday to explore the use of PC133 SDRAM at the low-end of the PC market could
serve as a pressure valve for cash-strapped DRAM suppliers and provide some breathing room for wary
systems makers, according to several analysts and component vendors.
Though it was rumored for months, Intel's confirmation that it is considering PC133 is the first concrete sign that the company is entertaining a memory interface other than Direct Rambus DRAM. Word of Intel's apparent change of heart sent shares of Rambus Inc. tumbling 12% yesterday. The stock inched up a percentage point today to close at 99 5/8. |
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Intel pulls plug on 754 graphics chipBy Mark Hachman July 23, 1999 |
Intel Corp. confirmed online reports that it has canceled its Intel 754 graphics chip, a device that analysts had termed a "place holder" in its product line.
"Yes, Intel has canceled plans for the Intel 754 graphics accelerator," said an Intel spokesman here. "Our goal is to provide quality solutions for the mainstream PC segments and the recently announced Intel 752 addresses those users needs. Intel will use the freed-up resources to align graphics solutions with early 2000 PC platform requirements." The Intel 752, which was announced in late April, will serve as Intel's sole discrete graphics chip until at least the end of the year. The spokesman said Intel is working with customers to minimize the cancellation's impact. |
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Via takes on Intel with Apollo Pro 133 chipset launchBy Jack Robertson July 19, 1999 |
Flaunting Intel Corp.'s legal challenge, Via Technologies Inc. today introduced its Apollo Pro 133 chipset with a
133-MHz front side bus (FSB) that connects to Pentium processors. The roll out places Via nearly two months
ahead of Intel in terms of supporting the faster microprocessor core-logic interface.
But the fate of Via's new device is somewhat cloudy, following a lawsuit filed by Intel in a San Jose, Calif., federal district court earlier this month that is seeking to block the 133-MHz FSB chipset. In its complaint, Intel claims that Via is not licensed to make or sell a 133-MHz FSB chipset-a device that also enables the processor to work with faster PC133 SDRAMs. |
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Trident to integrate graphics ICs in mystery core-logic chipsetBy Mark Hachman July 21, 1999 |
Trident Microsystems Inc. is integrating its graphics ICs into chipsets built by a Taiwan-based chipset
manufacturer -- but in a coy move has declined to name its new design partner.
According to sources, the deal was struck with Acer Laboratories Inc., which will integrate Trident's CyberBlade graphics core into its Aladdin series of chipsets. The agreement would represent a stepping out for Trident, which under an earlier pact with Acer Labs' rival Via Technologies Inc. integrated its CyberBlade core with Via's MVP4 chipset. A second Trident-based chipset, the ProMedia, was disclosed today by Via executives and will ship in the third quarter. |
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Key testing results for AMD's Athlon due soonBy Michael Kanellos July 28, 1999 |
For chipmaker AMD, the rubber will start to meet the road on August 9 when some key testing results for the new
high-end Athlon processor are made public.
The results, called benchmarks, are a standardized set of tests that are used to compare performance of different electronic components such as processors. Early next month, AMD said it will allow publications and analysts to first start discussing publicly the benchmarks surrounding the Athlon--formerly called the K7 processor. The event will likely be closely watched, because nearly every analyst contacted by CNET News.com has said informally that the Athlon, which AMD is banking on mightily, will outperform Intel's high-end Pentium III at the same speed. |
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Soaring demand causes Intel chip-set prices to surge 20%By Mark Hachman, Sandy Chen, and Barbara Jorgensen July 26, 1999 |
A sharp increase in demand for Intel Corp.'s mainstream PC chip sets caused prices to spike as much as 20% last week, and motherboard
vendors fear the shortage will persist until September.
Intel confirmed the scant supply of its 440BX and 440ZX chip sets, products designed for the high-volume corporate PC market. While motherboard vendors initially declined to raise prices of their BX- and ZX-based boards, some said the shortfall may delay product introductions by lower-tier suppliers. "We're acknowledging a shortage of BX and ZX parts, and we're working quickly to meet that [demand]," said a spokesman for Intel. "It's a case where demand for the product continues to be extremely strong. It's a good problem." |
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Intel To Launch Fastest Pentium III, Celeron ChipsBy Marcia Savage July 27, 1999 |
Intel Corp. on Aug. 2 will roll out faster versions of its Pentium III and Celeron desktop chips, targeting back-to-school sales and overall strong PC demand.
At the same time, PC OEMs will offer systems based on the new 600MHz Pentium III and 500MHz Celeron processors. The chips will cost $669 and $167, respectively, in volume quantities. Executives at Intel, based here, said prospects for the new products are good, based on strong PC demand. Intel expects that demand to remain steady, despite year 2000 concerns. |
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The Intel Roadmap According To Sources Close to IntelBy Joan "Mango" Wood & Larry "Extreme" Barber June 16th 1999 |
Hey Kids!
Look what Daddy brought you from Taipei! If there's one thing about Computex, it's the relative ease with which a journalist can get his/her hands on an Intel Roadmap. We're not saying we did.. and we're not saying we didn't either but we do like to wear raincoats and we are former DIA & CIA, so we know the ropes. What we're officially saying is that we met with several 'key sources close to Intel'. And on 'several occasions' no less… Now we're sure we'll see the same roadmap details on many a web site over the next week or two. In fact, not only can one get a single copy (apparently in color) but one can also bring a couple of extra copies home for the kids too (if they happen to be that way inclined). So without further ado we've gleaned what we believe to be the most fascinating points so let's get straight down to the full Monty. |
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NGIO fires off spec in I/O warBy Rick Merritt July 21, 1999 |
A simmering debate over the architecture for tomorrow's server and networking I/O systems bubbled up again today (July 20) as the Next-Generation I/O
(NGIO) Forum formally released version 1.0 of its specification to its members. While the group gave few hard details of its approach to a switch-based I/O scheme, a spokesman held out hopes for a reconciliation with a rival camp.
Talks are ongoing between members of the NGIO Forum — which includes Dell, Hitachi, Intel, NEC, Siemens and Sun Microsystems — and the competing Future I/O Forum, which includes Compaq, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The two camps lay out separate paths and time frames for delivering switch-based I/O subsystems for PC servers and networking gear and peripherals. |
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Intel goes after EMI for "parasitic" suitBy Dan Goodin July 27, 1999 |
It's not just revenge that Intel is after in its latest lawsuit. The top computer chipmaker wants millions in damages as
well.
Intel today sued EMI Group North America for malicious prosecution relating to a 1995 patent infringement claim the tiny company carried all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court before losing. Intel's suit seeks $4.5 million in addition to unspecified punitive damages, alleging that EMI's "parasitic" infringement suit was designed to "coerce Silicon Valley companies to make payments simply to avoid the risk, uncertainty, burden, and expense of litigation." |
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Intel Most Shorted Stock On NasdaqBy Eric Hausman July 27, 1999 |
There are more short positions held in Intel Corp. than any other stock listed on the Nasdaq stock
market, according to just-released data from Nasdaq.
With an 8 percent increase over last month, Intel registered just under 43 million shorts as of July 15. Cisco Systems Inc., with an 18 percent decline in shorts, registered 36.3 million shorts and was second on the Nasdaq list. Shorting is similar to making a bet that a stock will decline in value. |
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| The Register Files | ||
Amiga goes for TransmetaBy Tony Smith July 27, 1999 |
Amiga president Jim Collas this weekend effectively revealed the Transmeta CPU will power the company's upcoming (and rather ugly, it has to be said) next-generation hardware products. On video via satellite link at the World of Amiga (WOA) show, held in Kensington, London, Collas simply unveiled which chip the new machines will be based upon. When it came to more interesting details -- like who will actually make the chip or what it can do -- Collas wasn't even remotely forthcoming. |
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Intel uncovers new erratum in PIII and Xeon CPUsBy John Lettice July 27, 1999 |
Intel has found an erratum (one of those things that isn't a bug, honest) in Pentium III
and Pentium III Xeon processors, according to hardware site HardwareCentral. The
problem manifests itself as a system hang, and the more processors in the system,
the more likely it is to occur.
The fix requires a bios update, and OEMs were given the code for this earlier this month. According to HardwareCentral, the system may hang when the processor requests data from the system memory bus while another processor or bus master asks for memory contents being used by the first processor. |
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Rambus real loser in PC133 warsBy Mike Magee July 20, 1999 |
The admission by Intel yesterday that it is now "evaluating" the PC133 synchronous
DRAM standard will cause many in the industry to breathe a sigh of relief.
Although Intel has consistently denied through the course of this year that it would support PC133, its own customers and the rest of the industry had already voted with their feet. Sources began to tell of problems with Direct Rambus yields, speeds and prices right from the beginning of the year, and at a so-called "plugfest" Intel held in June, its major partners HP, IBM and Compaq all pleaded that it reconsider its decision. |
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Acer-Centaur-IDT: denials flow thick & fastBy Simon Burns July 22, 1999 |
Taiwan's Acer Laboratories Inc is not involved in talks to buy US CPU manufacturer
IDT, said ALI president Chin Wu today.
Reliable industry sources have suggested that the Acer Group subsidiary may be Last month, one of ALI's main competitors, VIA Technologies, announced plans to buy another US CPU-maker, Cyrix. |
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Intel clamps down on dual-Celeron systemsBy Tony Smith July 27, 1999 |
Intel's attempt to prevent Celeron CPUs being used in multi-processor systems may
for now depend more on bamboozling buyers than actually nobbling the chip.
According to hardware-oriented Web site BX Boards, Chipzilla began disabling one of the Socket 370 Celeron's pins (AN15, to be exact) at the end of June, to ensure the chip would not work in dual-CPU mode. That was in response to the release of several dual-CPU motherboards. |
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| Today's Related Stories | ||
Mighty Intel fells another MPU competitorBy Ismini Scouras July 16, 1999 |
Intel Corp. strikes again. Just two weeks after National Semiconductor Corp. bailed out of the microprocessor business, IDT has put its microprocessor subsidiary, Centaur Technology Inc., up for sale. Both companies have been unable to compete against Intel, which has slashed prices and grown market share in recent quarters.
In addition, IDT president and chief executive Len Perham, who steered the company into the MPU business in 1995, has relinquished his post as president, and will step down as CEO at the end of the year. |
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Intel to unveil details on
Merced
|
Intel Corp.'s first 64-bit processor may be a year away, but the semiconductor giant is already ramping up
supporting products and technologies for the chip.
At its Intel Developers Forum in Palm Springs, Calif., next month, the company is expected to announce a host of new products and technologies, including 64-bit development tools. The company will also disclose plans for PC designs, processors and chip sets. Of particular interest to developers will be the unveiling of details about Intel's first 64-bit processor, code-named Merced, said Pat Gelsinger, vice president and general manager of the Santa Clara, Calif., company's desktop products division. |
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Intel CEO Says Merced On TrackBy Steve Burke July 19, 1999 |
Intel Corp.'s chief executive and president Craig Barrett said he is "very happy with the status of Merced."
In an interview with CRN here at CA World 99, Barrett confirmed Intel will be rolling out Merced chip samples this quarter. Barrett confirmed Intel previously had moved back the Merced production schedule by six to nine months. Intel had expected to begin volume production of the 64-bit chip by the end of this year and is now looking to deliver chip by mid-2000. |
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Intel execs tout Merced as 'engine of e-business'By John Madden July 20, 1999 |
Growth in e-commerce is leading to increased demand for higher computing power and
scalable infrastructures, which is why Intel Corp. has made development of its IA-64 chip set for servers such
a priority, company officials said Monday night.
In a keynote here at CA-World, Intel Chairman Andy Grove -- who participated in a keynote address by Intel CEO and President Craig Barrett via videoconferencing -- said the "tapeout," or design, of the 64-bit chip, known as Merced, is complete. Grove said that "physical work and debugging" on the IA-64 will begin in a few weeks. OEMs are expected to begin sampling the chip this summer. "This product was conceived to be the engine of e-business," Grove told the audience. |
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Intel Assessing Rambus AlternativeBy Marcia Savage July 19, 1999 |
Citing requests from OEMs and memory vendors, Intel Corp. said Monday it is evaluating an alternative to the Rambus memory technology.
Intel officials announced that they are evaluating chipset support for PC133, or 133MHz SDRAM, in the first half of 2000. Intel's plans previously showed a jump from the current PC100 (100MHz SDRAM) standard to the new Direct Rambus DRAM without any support for PC133. |
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