Tweet
Intel admits Big mistake going with Rambus
From www.Maximumpc.com
Regards,
Elie
--------------------------------------------
Intel: OK, We Blew It on Rambus
~Maximum PC
An already reeling Intel has started to voice yet more backpedaling by grumbling about its partnership with memory chip technology company Rambus. In recent statements to stock market analysts and the press, Intel execs have openly disavowed Rambus even as the Pentium IV, expected to hit retail shelves by the end of November, is intimately tied to the foundering memory chip by a compatibility promise Intel made to Rambus in February.
"We made a big bet on Rambus and it did not work out," Intel CEO Craig Barrett told the Financial Times. "In retrospect, it was a mistake to be dependent on a third party for a technology that gates your performance."
Indications are that Intel is quickly moving to support DDR DRAM. Electronic Buyers' News earlier this month reported that major DRAM manufacturers have started shipping DIMMs to Intel in quantities that suggest the company is using DDR for more than just the server chipsets Intel has previously announced. And in discussing the company's third-quarter earnings report issued earlier this week, Intel architecture group veep Paul Otellini virtually confirmed as much.
"As we have said before, we are adopting DDR technology for servers, and exploring DDR on desktop," he said.
Intel first got behind the Rambus memory chip technology four years ago. A series of missteps by Rambus, which in the past year has sued almost every rival memory chip manufacturer for infringing on its patent, has contributed to Intel's many recent woes. Intel's failed low-end Timbus processor never interested computer makers who couldn't see the logic of pairing a cheap CPU with expensive Rambus memory.
AMD, by contrast, has firmly headed to support DDR DRAM. Joined by Acer Labs and VIA Technology, AMD last week showed new mobos using DDR DRAM at San Jose's Microprocessor Forum.
Regards,
Elie
--------------------------------------------
Intel: OK, We Blew It on Rambus
~Maximum PC
An already reeling Intel has started to voice yet more backpedaling by grumbling about its partnership with memory chip technology company Rambus. In recent statements to stock market analysts and the press, Intel execs have openly disavowed Rambus even as the Pentium IV, expected to hit retail shelves by the end of November, is intimately tied to the foundering memory chip by a compatibility promise Intel made to Rambus in February.
"We made a big bet on Rambus and it did not work out," Intel CEO Craig Barrett told the Financial Times. "In retrospect, it was a mistake to be dependent on a third party for a technology that gates your performance."
Indications are that Intel is quickly moving to support DDR DRAM. Electronic Buyers' News earlier this month reported that major DRAM manufacturers have started shipping DIMMs to Intel in quantities that suggest the company is using DDR for more than just the server chipsets Intel has previously announced. And in discussing the company's third-quarter earnings report issued earlier this week, Intel architecture group veep Paul Otellini virtually confirmed as much.
"As we have said before, we are adopting DDR technology for servers, and exploring DDR on desktop," he said.
Intel first got behind the Rambus memory chip technology four years ago. A series of missteps by Rambus, which in the past year has sued almost every rival memory chip manufacturer for infringing on its patent, has contributed to Intel's many recent woes. Intel's failed low-end Timbus processor never interested computer makers who couldn't see the logic of pairing a cheap CPU with expensive Rambus memory.
AMD, by contrast, has firmly headed to support DDR DRAM. Joined by Acer Labs and VIA Technology, AMD last week showed new mobos using DDR DRAM at San Jose's Microprocessor Forum.
Comment