A rchive Date
[ 03-10-2000 ]
Category
[ Information Technologies ]
sub-Categoy
[ Intel Corp ]
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[Intel pulls plug on Timna processor
By Ken Popovich, eWEEK
September 29, 2000 4:21 PM ET
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.
The final death blow for the chip came when Intel recently realized it would have to further delay the product's launch because of problems redesigning another key component, which forced the company to recall about a million 820 chip sets in May.
Plans undermined
Although the Timna was targeted at the budget PC market, Intel originally designed it to be packaged with the 820 chip set and a new memory technology, Rambus DRAM. But the continued high cost of RDRAM undermined Intel's plans to market the product in low-cost PCs.
In an effort to boost 820 sales, Intel added a memory translator hub (or MTH) to the chip set to enable it to utilize SDRAM. The MTH was also seen as crucial to Intel's Timna plans, as it would eliminate the high cost of using RDRAM.
Unfortunately for Intel, the strategy backfired when problems involving the MTH spurred the company to recall all chip sets with the component. To resolve the problem, Intel had to remove the MTH and replace customers' SDRAM with expensive RDRAM. The company initially set aside about $200 million to cover the cost of fixing the problem, although some analysts believe the expense will run much higher.
The MTH problems forced Intel to push the Timna's launch date back until the first quarter of 2001. But an Intel spokesman said Friday that continued delays in redesigning the MTH would have pushed the Timna launch back even further.
"The memory translator hub product that allowed Timna to communicate with SDRAM needed another stepping in order to go into production, which is essentially another revision," said Intel spokesman Seth Walker. "That would have caused a one-month delay and moved our customers out of our launch window."
We want Celeron
That further delay, coupled with the rising popularity of the new chip sets featuring integrated graphics and a resulting decrease in customer interest, spurred Intel to cancel the chip, Walker said.
"Our customers have really indicated that they like the standalone Celeron products better," he said. "It gives them more flexibility in terms of their design."
In addition, the push to rapidly accelerate chip performance was another factor.
"You're able to ramp the megahertz and processor performance a little faster because when you have an integrated chip that doesn't tend to ramp as fast," he said.
If there is a silver lining to all of this, Walker said, it is that Intel will now be able to devote more resources to its other products. During the past year, the Santa Clara, Calif., company has struggled to meet heavy demand for its products.
"What this decision does is free up resources at Intel that were devoted to the Timna project, and we will use those resources to better focus on bringing other Intel architecture products to the marketplace," he said.
It's been a rough spell of late for the chip giant. Last week, Intel warned that its third-quarter sales would be disappointing. Company officials said weak demand in Europe was mainly to blame.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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