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| Top Stories for October 5, 2000 (details below) | |
| Gurutech.org | IA-64: Intel's Last Leg? |
| ZDNet News | AMD readies new Athlon, Duron chips |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | Pentium 4 yields 'not impressive' |
| The Register | Fake Durons tip up in Taiwan |
| The Register | P4 launch now set for end of November |
| The Register | Celeron gets 100MHz FSB in Q1 2001 |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of October 1, 2000 |
Older News |
| October 5, 2000 | ||
IA-64: Intel's Last Leg?By Intaglio October 2, 2000 |
Intel hasn't been having the best of times as of late. The once-king of desktop CPUs has been feeling the searing flames of competition on its back for months from AMD, the comeback kid of microprocessors. Intel used to pummel its competitors into oblivion; just recently, Intel had to race AMD to 1GHz. That alone is enough to signify Intel's dethroning, but what could make its death?
With the IA-64 instruction set, Intel is looking to dump the x86 legacy alltogether and adopt a brand new way of doing things. IA-64 is all about executing more instructions per clockcycle and making that more efficient via the compiler. With Intel's first IA-64 offering, the Itanium, 2 groups consisting of 3 instructions a piece will be executed at a time, making it extremely efficient. |
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AMD readies new Athlon, Duron chipsBy John G. Spooner October 4, 2000 |
Keeping the heat on chip rival Intel, Advanced Micro Devices is preparing to ship its next-generation processors.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is keeping up the pressure on chip rival Intel Corp. AMD will shortly introduce faster Athlon and Duron chips for desktop PCs. The Sunnyvale Calif., company will dog Intel with frequent releases of faster Athlon chips, starting with a 1.2GHz Athlon slated for introduction late this month, sources said. |
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The Register Files |
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Pentium 4 yields 'not impressive'By Andrew Thomas October 4, 2000 |
Someone at Intel's notoriously-leaky Qiryat-Gat plant (Fab 18) in Israel has been blabbing to Israeli paper Haaretz about teething troubles with the upcoming Pentium 4 chip.
Haaretz reports that there are only two steppers in the world capable of handling one critical part of the P4 manufacturing process. Both of them are at Qiryat-Gat and one of them doesn't work properly. |
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Fake Durons tip up in TaiwanBy Andrew Thomas October 3, 2000 |
In Victorian times, if the marketing folk of the day wanted to make something sound exciting and high tech, they'd affix an 'Electric' prefix or suffix. Thus were born the Crapper Electric Toilet and the DeSade Electrical Servant Pacifier.
Today's IT marketing goons have chosen 'copper' as the buzz word of choice. Copper interconnects, copper heat spreaders and such like impressing and bemusing the great unwashed. |
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P4 launch now set for end of NovemberBy Andrew Thomas October 3, 2000 |
More details of Intel's Pentium 4 delay have come to light thanks to an internal document obtained by Digit Life.
The launch date has now reportedly shifted to work week 48, which would place it right at the end of November and the 850 Tehama chipset problem, which affected certain PCI graphics cards, has been identified as an ICH2 erratumnotbug which will be fixed by what Intel call a 'low-risk' stepping, named B1 Prime. |
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Celeron gets 100MHz FSB in Q1 2001By Andrew Thomas October 3, 2000 |
Leaked Intel documents seen by The Reg reveal that Celeron will finally move into the 1990s in 2001. The cheapo chip has been lumbered with a puny 66MHz front side bus ever since its inauspicious launch as the cacheless Covington in the latter years of the last century.
A new chipset, the i810e2 is also set for launch in Q1, supporting both Pentium and Celeron brands on a common motherboard design. There is possibly an interesting development here - the Intel document specifically mentions 'Pentium', not 'Pentium III' - is this a deviation from the corporate style guide, or an indication that both PIII and P4 chips will be supported? (Unlikely, given the differing number of pins involved - still, stranger things have happened at sea) |
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| October 3, 2000 | ||
Pentium 4 delay due to graphics chip glitchBy Joe Wilcox and Michael Kanellos October 2, 2000 |
Intel's delay delivering Pentium 4 processors stems from a chipset problem the company has now corrected.
As first reported by CNET News.com, Intel pushed back delivery of the Pentium 4 to Nov. 20 from Oct. 30. The delay means some PC manufacturers will not be able to deliver systems with the new processor in time for the lucrative holiday sales rush. Sources at PC makers, speaking under request of anonymity, confirmed that a problem with how the 850 chipset interacts with PCI graphics cards was responsible for the Pentium 4 delay. |
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Transmeta sets IPO terms
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Upstart chip maker Transmeta Corp. has set the terms for its initial public offering through which it plans to raise as much as $169 million.
Transmeta, which makes low-power microprocessors for portable computers and Internet access devices, plans to sell 13 million common shares priced in a range between $11 and $13 per share, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. |
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Transmeta plans to raise more than $140 million in IPOBy Cecily Barnes October 2, 2000 |
Transmeta, which makes chips for notebooks and portable Net appliances, plans to raise $143.6 million in an initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company initially filed for its IPO on Aug. 17, but it filed again today with the specific size and terms of its offering. Transmeta plans to sell 13 million shares at a range of $11 to $13. After its IPO, the company will have 126 million shares outstanding, giving it an approximate market value of $1.64 billion based on a sale price of $13 per share. |
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The Register Files |
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P4 launch delay a cunning plan?By Andrew Thomas October 2, 2000 |
Last Friday's coup de grace on the hapless Timna (see Intel's Timna dead - official) could be seen as a welcome return to sanity for Intel's marketing department.
Having the guts to kill a product some six months before it was due to launch is pretty strategic compared with the tactical flounderings of the last year and a bit. Recalls for no fewer that three high profile products - the non-functional three-slot Vancouver Rambus mobos, the completely useless Caminogate Cape Cod abomination and the hurriedly-launched and even more hurriedly recalled 1.13GHz PIII - have left Chipzilla with more than a little egg on its face. |
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P4 benchmarks - the real thing?By Andrew Thomas October 2, 2000 |
Yet more Pentium 4 benchmarks have popped their tiny little heads over the parapet, but this time they could be the real thing.
This claim, made on JC's pages which was sent them anonymously by the enigmatic 'One guy on the net', could well be true, because the numbers follow Intel's traditional iMark style. iMark is an abomination introduced by Chipzilla which, while showing the relative performance of its processors, prohibits that performance from being compared to any other product, even from within Intel. You can compare PIII with PIII, or Celeron with Celeron, but not PIII with Celeron, or - God forbid - with Duron. |
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Pentium III to get new coreBy Andrew Thomas October 2, 2000 |
According to ixbt labs, Intel is about to revamp its PIII Slot One chips ranging from 600 to 933MHz with the cC0 core used in the flip chip variants of the processor.
The C stepping is around five per cent smaller than the cB0 currently used, making it both more economical to manufacture and more stable at high clock speeds. |
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Europe: Intel down, AMD upBy Andrew Thomas October 2, 2000 |
European Franchise outfit PC-Spezialist, which operates 121 stores in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg, reckons that Intel could have been economical with the actualité over a dip in Euro sales contributing to the chip behemoth's warning on Q3 profits.
PC-Spezialist says there was indeed a dip in demand for PCs, but that it only affected Intel-powered ones, while PCs in general, and AMD systems in particular, saw increased demand. |
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| October 2, 2000 | ||
Intel cancels Timna processor, citing technical problemsBy Jack Robertson September 29, 2000 |
Intel Corp. today abruptly terminated its much-touted Timna processor program. A spokesman for the Santa Clara chip giant said that trying to adapt the interface, originally designed for Direct Rambus DRAM, to support SDRAM instead ran into too many problems and would have impeded Timna's introduction.
Intel also said the sub-$600-PC price point targeted by Timna was now being met by its Celeron processor, the 810 integrated graphics chip set, and lower-cost motherboards. "Our customers told us they didn't need Timna to sell in this price range," the spokesman said. |
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Transmeta official's comments spark debateBy Dan Neel September 29, 2000 |
In the wake comments made Tuesday by Transmeta CEO Dave Ditzel that the ambitious microprocessor start-up is at least five years ahead of well-established competitors Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a spokesman for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Transmeta clarified that the company's lead is in its software emulation technology, a method of computing unique to the company's Crusoe processor.
Ditzel, who is traveling outside the country, was unavailable for comment. "Basically, the [software emulation] effort started back in 1995, and our technique is different than Intel's architecture," said Ed McKernan, director of marketing at Transmeta. |
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Transmeta deals point to wireless notebooksBy Dan Neel September 29, 2000 |
Reflecting Transmeta's single-purpose determination to be the leader in the low-power processor space, an official for the company said last week that the deployment of the company's Crusoe processor in ultraportable notebook computers in the Asia-Pacific region is an indicator of what is to come in the U.S. marketplace.
Although Crusoe has only recently begun to appear in ultrathin portable computers from manufacturers such as Sony, Hitachi, and Fujitsu, Asia-Pacific customers are responding enthusiastically to the Crusoe chip, which Transmeta claims can run complex operating environments such as Microsoft Windows 2000 with as little as 1 watt of power. |
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AMD, Transmeta Next For Rambus Royalties?By Jack Robertson September 29, 2000 |
Rambus Inc. here is preparing to escalate its synchronous-interface patent defense, moving from the DRAM industry to take aim at a pair of microprocessor makers, according to industry sources.
Industry executives close to the patent skirmish said Rambus is in the midst of negotiating separate licensing agreements with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and x86-processor start-up Transmeta Corp., both of which have been heavy supporters of the double-data-rate SDRAM interface Rambus claims to own. |
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Intel Sets Pentium 4 Launch For NovemberBy Mark Hachman September 29, 2000 |
Intel won't deliver the Pentium 4 until late in the holiday season, despite reports that the chip is performing better than expected.
Sources close to Intel Corp. (stock: INTC) said the manufacturer is "trying to get its ducks in a row" so PC OEM partners can start selling their own systems on the day the company announces the chip. Top-tier PC OEMs had originally penciled in a mid-October timeframe to launch systems using the Pentium 4, sources said. Intel later postponed delivery until Oct. 30 and recently pushed it back again until Nov. 20. |
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Today's Related Stories |
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Intel cancels its Timna chipBy Michael Kanellos September 29, 2000 |
Intel has canceled the Timna processor, a long-delayed chip for the budget market--the latest surprise in a long, sour month for the semiconductor giant.
The Timna, which was expected to come out in the first quarter of next year, has met its doom because of design problems and market conditions, an Intel representative said today. |
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Intel drops Timna integrated CPU projectBy David Lammers September 29, 2000 |
Intel Corp. said Friday (Sept. 29) that it has cancelled its work on
Timna, a planned integrated CPU that was to target the value PC market.
Intel cited several factors for its decision: a flawed strategy of matching Timna with the Rambus DRAMs; and a preference by many OEMs to use Celeron processors with 810 or 810e chip sets for value PCs, rather than the integrated Timna. |
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Intel canceling chip project
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Intel Corp. said Friday that it is canceling development of a new computer chip designed for the very-low-cost PC market, the latest in a string of setbacks for the chip behemoth.
At the same time, reports surfaced that the company's much-anticipated Pentium 4 processor has been delayed by a few weeks and is now expected to be launched at the end of November or early December, instead of the end of October. Intel has never given a specific launch date and said it stands by a launch of the Pentium 4 sometime during the fourth quarter. |
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Intel pulls plug on Timna processorBy Ken Popovich September 29, 2000 |
Intel Corp. has pulled the plug on its problem-plagued Timna processor, a long-delayed chip that was being designed for low-cost desktop PCs and slated to be released early next year.
The chip, which was to feature integrated graphics and a memory controller, was a casualty of changing market conditions and continued development problems, according to an Intel spokesman. |
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The Register Files |
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Rambus takes aim at AMD and TransmetaBy Drew Cullen October 1, 2000 |
Rambus is extending its patent tentacles into AMD and Transmeta, according to Electronic Buyers'News' estimable Jack Robertson.
The company wants to get the microprocessor duo to acknowledge that patents, granted in 1996, cover DDR (Double-Data Rate) SDRAM, a rival technology to its own Direct RDRAM. |
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Intel's Timna dead - officialBy Andrew Thomas September 29, 2000 |
Intel today confirmed that Timna, Chipzilla's cheapo system on a chip, is dead.
Problems with the memory translator hub (MTH) which would have enabled the entry-level chip to use SDRAM memory rather than the expensive Rambus RIMMs for which it was originally designed, meant that by the time a workable solution had been found, the chip would have missed its market window. |
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850 chipset delays Pentium 4 launchBy Mike Magee September 29, 2000 |
A flurry of behind the scenes activity at the Intel Corporation has failed to convince tier-one vendors they should stand up on 30 October and pledge their whole hearted support for the Pentium 4 platform.
And the problem, once more, lies with the chipset rather than the so-called "brains of the computer", the microprocessor. As we reported here several weeks back, tier one vendors were delivered test samples of Intel's own reference motherboard for the Pentium 4, codenamed Garibaldi. |
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