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Top Stories for December 23, 1999 (details below) |
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| Semiconductor Business News | Intel, memory leaders form Next-Generation DRAM alliance |
| C/Net | Intel accelerates plans to release high-speed chips |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | Texan site reveals Intel's Y2000 plans |
| The Register | Intel cuddles up to Jedec SDRAM standards |
| The Register | Intel is an absolutely fab company |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of December 19, 1999 |
Older News |
December 23, 1999 |
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Intel, memory leaders form Next-Generation DRAM allianceBy Jack Robertson December 22, 1999 |
The "Big Five" DRAM makers have joined Intel Corp. in an alliance to develop a next-generation DRAM that will succeed the upcoming Double Data Rate-2 memory architecture in the 2004-2005 timeframe, said industry sources today.
The DRAM partners include Samsung Electronics, Hyundai MicroElectronics, Micron Technology, Infineon Technologies, and the new NEC Hitachi Memory Inc. combine. These five companies account for more than 80% of global DRAM sales. |
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Intel accelerates plans to release high-speed chipsBy Stephen Shankland and Michael Kanellos December 22, 1999 |
On Monday Intel released the 800-MHz Pentium III processor ahead of its original schedule, and apparently that's just the tip of the iceberg.
The Santa Clara, Calif., manufacturer has advanced its "road map" for 2000, and will come out with 850-MHz and 866-MHz Pentium IIIs in the year's first quarter, according to a presentation obtained by the HardOCP hardware discussion site. In addition, a 1-GHz Pentium III has been added to the chip giant's plans and is scheduled to appear in the fourth quarter of 2000. |
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The Register Files |
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Texan site reveals Intel's Y2000 plansBy Mike Magee December 22, 1999 |
Young Kyle Bennett at Hard OCP has got his mitts on some internal Intel roadmaps for the year 2000.
And very interesting reading they make too. Some of the information, in the form of an Asia Pacific presentation, we knew about already, in particular the 866MHz Pentium III being released at the end of Q1, and which we've already written about. |
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Intel cuddles up to Jedec SDRAM standardsBy Mike Magee December 22, 1999 |
Sources said that Intel has an important meeting with industry standards body Jedec at the beginning of next year.
Jedec is a semiconductor standards body which brings together a number of important manufacturers to agree specifications for future technology. One of those future technologies is SDRAM and double data rate (DDR) memory, standards which Intel is being forced to accept in the face of industry teeth. |
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Intel is an absolutely fab companyBy Mike Magee December 22, 1999 |
Chip company Intel may have had a bit of an annus horribilis on the old execution side in 1999, but there's one for thing for sure, it delivers like no-other on the old return on investment
(ROI) front.
That keeps the shareholders happy, and all you need to do is to look at its performance over the last 10 years to see that it's been a sound investment. That seems to be all that Wall Street cares about... Let's start with the net annual earnings per share Chipzilla has delivered since 1989. |
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December 22, 1999 |
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Via, S3 merger talks?By Cahners News Service December 21, 1999 |
S3 may be discussing a possible merger with Taiwan’s Via Technologies,
according to published reports. Forbes Online reported that S3 is in talks and
could merge with another chipmaker. The report mentions Via as a likely
possibility.
The graphics chipmaker and Taiwanese chipset and microprocessor maker have certainly become cozy in recent months. In November, S3 and VIA established a joint venture, tentatively named S3-VIA Inc., charged with developing an integrated graphics and core logic chipset. The deal was seen as a defensive measure to counteract top chipset maker Intel's plans to integrate graphics into its future chipset offerings. The newly-formed company does have exclusive access to both company's technology and distribution rights for developed products between S3 and VIA. |
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3Dlabs licenses patent portfolio to IntelBy Mark Hachman December 21, 1999 |
In an effort to raise cash, graphics chip maker 3Dlabs Inc. has licensed its entire patent portfolio to Intel Corp., which in exchange bought a convertible subordinated note worth approximately $7.5 million.
The Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker, which already owns less than 1.5% of 3Dlabs, does not have to convert the note that is due in 2004. If it does, however, 3Dlabs said it would issue up to 1.5 million shares of common stock directly to Intel. Executives from both companies declined to comment on Intel's potential investment within 3Dlabs if the note is converted. |
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Intel scores a victory in TechSearch suitBy Michael Kanellos December 21, 1999 |
Intel has nabbed a tactical victory in a patent lawsuit, a ruling that could lead to a termination of the multimillion dollar claim.
U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick has granted Intel's summary judgment in TechSearch vs. Intel, which effectively has lead to a dismissal of the claim for now. Orrick also vacated a pre-trial conference, slated for January 11, and the start of the trial, which had been scheduled for January 24. |
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The Register Files |
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Via-S3 deal would make Intel dead grumpyBy Mike Magee December 21, 1999 |
Forbes Online is reporting that graphics company S3 is in merger talks, with Taiwanese firm Via the suspected suitor.
The magazine reports that Lehman Brothers is currently brokering a possible deal, but the probability is that if Via is interested, it does not want the whole of S3's business, but just its graphics chip business. Yesterday, S3 bought Number Nine, a contractor which supplied its own parts to IBM. |
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AMD sued over patentBy Mike Magee December 21, 1999 |
Chip company AMD is being sued over alleged patent infringement in the US.
The case, filed against AMD by an individual, Peng Tan, was made earlier this month in the US district court in San Francisco. The case has been referred to Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero for his adjudication, under this statute. |
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Intel's 1GHz bent promisesBy Mike Magee December 21, 1999 |
Back in February, we met Pierre Mirjolet, architecture marketing manager at Intel
EMEA, who talked about Intel's .18 micron process and showed slides demonstrating a 1GHz chip by the end of this year.
Intel has not, so far, demonstrated such a beast apart from as a technology demo, but Mirjolet suggested that 1GHz Pentiums would be sampling by February next year. That now seems inconceivable. As we exclusively reported last month, Intel will demo an IA-32 1GHz part at a conference next February, but that's a long away away from providing samples. |
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December 21, 1999 |
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Intel takes lead in processor speed raceBy Associated Press December 20, 1999 |
Intel Corp. has moved ahead of competitor AMD once again in their ongoing race for the fastest computer processor.
Intel announced Monday the introduction of an 800 megahertz chip, surpassing AMD's 750 megahertz chip introduced last month. Computer chips, also known as microprocessors, are what make computers run. The faster the chip, the quicker and more powerful the computer. Powerful chips help voice and video processing, three-dimensional graphics and networking with other computers. |
See Today's Related Stories |
AMD, Intel race toward 800-MHz markBy Mark Hachman December 20, 1999 |
Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. ran another leg in their marketing race today, jockeying for position in the 800-MHz class of PC microprocessors.
As expected, Intel released both 750- and 800-MHz versions of its Coppermine CPU, after cutting some high-end Coppermine prices last week about 4% to make room for the new chips (see story). AMD, meanwhile, cleared hardware review sites and magazines to prematurely disclose performance benchmarks on its own 800-MHz Athlon systems. |
See Today's Related Stories |
The Register Files |
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800MHz Athlons tip-up in Intel-AMD Desperation DerbyBy Mike Magee December 20, 1999 |
The race between Intel and AMD to win the race for the trophy of fastest x86 chip on the planet is a lot like UK major horse race, the Grand National.
It's a long haul for both horses, spin jockeys and spectators with many cruel hurdles and jumps, at each of which the nags could well fall over and break their legs. But just when Intel thought it was ahead by a nose ahead with its announcement today of an 800MHz Coppermine Pentium III, it seems as though the AMD spin jockeys have applied the whip to the rump of their Athlon beast, with 800MHz Athlons mysteriously tipping up for review on some of the hardware sites. |
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Intel's 800MHz SpinolaBy Mike Magee December 20, 1999 |
Rather than re-write Intel's 800MHz press release, we thought we'd publish it in full, just so that when you read other accounts of this pre-announcement, you'll be able to see just how much re-writing the other journalists did.
To see our views on this announcement, go to 800MHz Athlons tip up in AMD-Intel Desperation Derby, and previous stories we've written, such as Intel will sample 800MHz Pentium IIIs next Monday. |
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Today's Related Stories |
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Intel rolls out 800-MHz Pentium III as performance race continuesDecember 20, 1999 |
'tis the season to be announcing faster microprocessors.
This time Intel Corp. today officially launched its fastest Pentium III microprocessors to date at speeds of 800 and 750 megahertz. The speedy Pentium III chips are made with Intel's advanced 0.18-micron process technology. Last week, MPU rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in nearby Sunnyvale said it had demonstrated 900-MHz Athlon processors, which were made with two different versions of 0.18-micron technology. One of prototype processor was fabricated with standard aluminum interconnect lines while the another was produced with copper metal at AMD's new wafer fab in Dresden, Germany. |
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Intel regains speed lead with 800MHz Pentium IIIBy John G. Spooner December 20, 1999 |
Intel Corp. is stepping up its attack on Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in a battle that should ultimately benefit
the consumer.
The Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker on Monday rang the bell in its latest round with AMD, announcing it is now shipping 750MHz and 800MHz Pentium III chips. The 750MHz Pentium III was expected in January. The 800MHz Pentium III, however, comes a full two months before it was originally expected. |
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December 20, 1999 |
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AMD to play key role in future of Alpha architectureBy Jack Robertson December 17, 1999 |
The $1.5 billion Alpha processor joint-development project unveiled earlier this week by Compaq Computer Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. involves yet another bedfellow: MPU rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and its Athlon microprocessor.
Under the five-year deal, Samsung will become a major supplier of the Alpha chips for Houston-based Compaq, which uses the devices in its high-end servers. Samsung initially will invest $200 million to incorporate copper-interconnect and silicon-on-insulator processing modules into its Alpha production lines. |
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The Register Files |
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Merced slow, slow, quick quick slowBy Mike Magee December 17, 1999 |
Prototype Merced systems are failing to reach satisfactory clock speeds ... and this makes Intel CEO Craig Barrett hopping mad.
Or so Forbes claims. Intel's flagship 64-bit processor is failing to perform as fast as anticipated, according to the magazine. The prototype machines are restricted to around 400MHz, but also need huge power supplies to keep them humming, Forbes says. |
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Intel re-draws map, re-jigs Merced roadmapBy Pete Sherriff and Mike Magee December 17, 1999 |
Several weeks ago, we noticed that Intel thought Europe spanned the entire distance between Galway and Vladivostok on its Channel pages.
Now it has realised the error of its ways and has moved the word Europe from the centre of the steppes and close to the gulag, back to where most people think the continent lies. However, Intel does not yet appear to have typed in the word Asia where it belongs, thus brutally disenfranchising everyone over there in Korea in favour of Japan. |
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Intel to go 12-inch Coppermine in Hudson?By Mike Magee December 19, 1999 |
Sources close to Intel's plans in the USA have said that its plans to revamp its Hudson site, which it announced last week, is likely to be connected to its plans to move to 12-inch (300mm) silicon wafers.
Earlier this year, Intel confirmed it was going ahead with plans to move to 12-inch wafers, which require a more specialised process technique because of the extra fragility of the expense silicon platters. According to our sources, which are not 500 million miles away from Intel's Chandler Arizona Fab 12, already a .18µ (micron) factory, the company will revamp its Hudson fabrication plant and convert it to 300mm and perhaps also to copper technology just as soon as it possibly can. |
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Intel CuMine chips pre-announced, pre-announced againBy Mike Magee December 18, 1999 |
We knew for some time that Intel would talk about a 800MHz processor on Monday, and for a longer time yet that it had two 750MHz Pentium IIIs and some other Coppermines in its pipeline.
But now due to the awesome power of the Web, a customer of another news service (Reuters) seems to have completed the parts of the jigsaw by accidentally posting a story meant for Monday's newspapers, late yesterday. According to the piece, Intel will say it is actually shipping 800MHz Pentium III Coppermines, but only one or two will launch machines, which are unlikely to arrive for another 30 days at least. |
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Rambus-DDR battle rages onBy Mike Magee December 19, 1999 |
One of the slides Kingston Technology showed a gaggle of Brithacks at a breakfast meeting was of particular interest to most.
This showed Kingston's assessment of the different platforms currently available and, according to the executives at the company, clearly shows that Rambus offers better performance than double data rate (DDR) memory. According to the executives, it is "inevitable" that Rambus becomes the predominant architecture for the PC market. The chart below underlines Kingston's view. |
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