x86 Headline NewsFor the week of August 31, 1998 |
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x86 Weekly News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of August 31, 1998 |
Older News |
September 4, 1998 | ||
National expected to block IBM from selling Cyrix's x86 processorsBy Mark Hachman September 3, 1998 |
National Semiconductor Corp.'s Cyrix
Corp. subsidiary here will move to block IBM
Microelectronics Inc. from selling its Cyrix-designed
microprocessors on the merchant market as early as the
first quarter of 1999, said sources close to both
companies. However, National's manufacturing relationship with IBM will remain in place, sources said. To date, the 686MX and MII microprocessors designed by Cyrix subsidiary are manufactured by Fishkill, N.Y.-based IBM on a foundry basis, with IBM keeping half of the finished wafers in payment. |
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IBM Micro denies it will stop making CPUsSeptember 3, 1998 |
IBM Microelectronics has formally denied
it is to exit the processor market after first
NatSemi-Cyrix and then AMD disclosed details of their
future plans. A representative of the Geneva-based company in Europe said: "There has been no agreement made to sever the relationship between Cyrix and IBM. Nothing has happened." |
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Taiwan core-logic vendor looks to beat Intel to the punchBy Mark Carroll September 4, 1998 |
Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. (SiS)
of Taiwan will begin volume production next month of the
industry's first Pentium II chip set with integrated 3-D
graphics. Intel is not scheduled to launch its similar
product until early next year. Instead of targeting the ultralow-end market, SiS will offer its SiS620 chip set as an alternative to Intel's core logic for PCs based on Pentium II or Mendocino processors. SiS expressed confidence that its product does not infringe Intel's intellectual-property rights. Nevertheless, the company said it is looking to obtain a license for the technology. |
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Big PC makers split with Intel on server designBy Lisa DiCarlo September 3, 1998 |
Three rival computer makers are plotting
to dull what they see as Intel Corp.'s increasing control
over the design of Windows NT servers. IBM (NYSE:IBM), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP) and Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ) have jointly and surreptitiously developed an enhanced PCI specification for servers that may provide up to a sixfold increase in I/O performance on NT servers, sources said |
See Today's Related Stories |
Intel, Dell huddle on serversBy Jim Davis September 3, 1998 |
Intel, Dell, and others will show off a
high-end server system next week that, on paper, will
match the capabilities of many sophisticated Unix systems
as a part of a collective effort to convince people that
a standardized PC architecture can run corporate
networks. Dell is expected to show how 16 servers based on Intel's Pentium II Xeon processors and Windows NT can work together in an extended "clustered" configuration next week at Comdex Enterprise in San Francisco, according to industry sources. |
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Intel Puts Audio-Chip Biz In JeopardyBy Mark LaPedus September 4, 1998 |
There's good news and bad news for
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and integrated
circuit makers: Analysts say Intel may be one step away
from eliminating the audio-chip business, but it is also
opening the door for a new class of communication-based
chips, modules, and other products for the PC. Hoping to integrate soft modems, digital subscriber line (DSL), home-networking, and other new communication protocols into the PC platform, a slew of companies next week will throw their weight behind the two Intel-developed specifications that could bring these new features onto the desktop and mobile platforms by using standard, low-cost motherboard designs and input/output (I/O) cards. |
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Intel Improves PC Audio, Modem IntegrationBy Craig Matsumoto September 3, 1998 |
Intel said it is hoping to ignite
sweeping changes in the PC audio and motherboard
businesses with new hardware specifications to be studied
in depth at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Palm
Springs, Calif., later this month. Initially announced in July, the audio/modem riser (AMR) card and the mobile daughtercard (MDC) will combine audio and modem functions, and will remove from the motherboard the analog circuitry for both. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel (company profile) will announce completion of the specifications and begin its promotional push for AMR and MDC next week. |
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Markets: Intel gets financial analysts voteSeptember 4, 1998 |
American financial analysts are raising
their earnings estimates for Intel's third quarter to 79
to 80 cent/share because of what they believe is growing
PC demand. With Xeon processors becoming available in the
fourth quarter, the new prediction is for earnings around
$3.14 for the year. It seems that Wall Street does not throw straw in the air and watch to see which way it blows. Instead, they look to DRAM - production-free New Zealand, the traditional dumping ground for South Korean surpluses. |
See Today's Related Stories |
Today's Related Stories | ||
PC demand drives second halfBy Michael Kanellos September 3 |
As the stock market continues to slide,
rising PC demand is setting the stage for a
stronger-than-expected second half for Intel and other
PC-centric companies. Two analysts, Mark Edelstone of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover and Ashok Kumar of Piper Jaffray raised their earnings estimates on Intel for the third quarter and for the year due to growing PC demand. |
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Intel customers push own designBy Reuters September 4, 1998 |
Three of Intel's biggest customers are
challenging the chip giant's influence over a key piece
of technology within the personal computer, according to
reports. Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM have created a new design for circuitry that could double the speed of data movement within a PC, people familiar with the matter said, the Wall Street Journal reported today. |
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September 3, 1998 | ||
National To Block IBM From Selling Cyrixs X86 ProcessorsBy Mark Hachman September 3, 1998 |
National Semiconductor Corp.'s Cyrix
Group will move to block IBM Microelectronics Inc. from
selling its Cyrix-designed microprocessors on the
merchant market as early as the first quarter of 1999,
said sources close to both companies. However, National's manufacturing relationship with IBM will remain in place, sources said. To date, the 686MX and M II microprocessors designed by National's Cyrix subsidiary are manufactured by Fishkill, N.Y.-based IBM on a foundry basis, with IBM keeping half of the finished wafers in payment. |
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Waitt wrestles Intel over CeleronBy Michael Kanellos September 3, 1998 |
Gateway chairman Ted Waitt sees at least
one obstacle in the path of greater success for the
low-cost Celeron processor, and oddly enough, it's
Intel--a paradox that highlights the conflicts the chip
giant faces in bringing out a cheap processor that
performs as well as its premium line. Intel announced new and improved Celeron chips just last week, but must reconcile this latest rollout with the chip's checkered past and the current line of Pentium II processors. |
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September 2, 1998 | ||
IBM and Cyrix to go separate waysBy Lisa DiCarlo September 2, 1998 |
National Semiconductor Inc.'s Cyrix
subsidiary and IBM Microelectronics are dissolving their
long-standing manufacturing and licensing partnership. The companies will announce, perhaps within the next month, that National Semi will take over all Cyrix chip manufacturing from IBM, sources said. In addition, they said, IBM will stop selling its brand of the Cyrix 6X86MX processor. |
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Intel clones coming despite tough marketBy Michael Kanellos September 2, 1998 |
Some relatively small start-ups with big
ambitions are planning chips aimed at taking away
business from Intel, but they face major challenges in
making the transition from design to manufacturing. Two newcomers, Transmeta and Rise, are working on low-cost, low-powered chips for desktops and portables. A third, Metaflow, is planning an Intel clone with parent company ST Microelectronics. |
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AMD pondering IBM Microelectronics dealSeptember 1, 1998 |
Sources told The Register late today
that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was considering
suspending its deal with IBM Microelectronics to fab out
its K6 chips. Earlier today, as reported here, AMD disclosed figures of the wafers made by its fabs, suggesting that it is close to achieving critical mass on its processors off its own bat. |
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HP releases Trimaran compiler for IA-64By Alexander Wolfe September 2, 1998 |
A first glimpse of the smart-compiler
software technology that will be the linchpin of Intel
Corp.'s IA-64 architecture and its Merced microprocessor
is now available. Hewlett-Packard Co. has authorized the
release of a research compiler called Trimaran, which is
billed as an academic "infrastructure" aimed at
enabling universities to develop compiler technology for
IA-64. HP's broad objective is to seed research that will result in heavy-hitting IA-64 software. "To really make the new architecture work, compilers are key," said Jim Carlson, HP's director of marketing for IA-64. "Compilers have been crucial in RISC. But as we move into the Epic (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing) architecture, compilers become 10 times more important. Four or five years in the future, this will really pay off." |
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Japan's Casio snaps up new low-power Cyrix MediaGXBy Anthony Cataldo September 1, 1998 |
National Semiconductor's Cyrix processor
division this year will roll out a reduced-voltage
version of its MediaGX processor aimed at mini-notebook
computers. Japan's Casio Computer Co. Ltd. will be one of
the first to employ the processor in its A5 line of
notebooks, scheduled to hit shelves here later this year,
the companies announced here Tuesday. The Casio notebook, which will compete with Toshiba's Libretto and NEC's Mobio, represents the first Japanese PC company to incorporate the MediaGX, a National spokesman said. Earlier this year in the United States, Compaq announced a sub-$2,000 notebook with an earlier version of the MediaGX with MMX technology. |
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IBM's copper chips set to shipBy Reuters August 31, 1998 |
The world's first commercial computer
chips wired with copper instead of aluminum will begin
shipping tomorrow, according to IBM, which plans to
market the faster, more efficient chips for use in a wide
range of computers and consumer electronics. The world's largest computer maker said it would begin shipping its first copper-based microprocessors, including a PowerPC 740/750 model operating at 400 MHz. The chips are designed for use in both desktop and mobile computers. |
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September 1, 1998 | ||
AMD to ship 12 million K6 parts in 1998September 1, 1998 |
AMD has responded to accusations it
cannot produce enough K6-2s by delivering comprehensive
figures which it claims vindicates its stance. A source close to AMD gave facts and figures showing how many wafers it had made and chips it had shipped. According to the source, close to senior AMD executives in the US, in the second quarter of 1998 it produced 2.67 million K6 parts. |
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Intel's Moore relaxed about Y2KBy Reuters August 31, 1998 |
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore said today
that all major computer systems should be able to cope
with the millennium, but problems could arise with
non-mainstream systems. "There are millions of micro controllers out there," he told reporters in Vienna. "It is likely that all major systems will be fine. My fear is for controllers with code written by companies that don't exist any more." Moore, chairman emeritus of Intel since 1997, was speaking in Vienna where he was attending an international computer congress. |
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August 31, 1998 | ||
Wafer yield to slow down AMD shipmentsAugust 27, 1998 |
AMD has warned that it may not be able
to supply enough of its 350MHz K6-2 parts. The company formally announced the chip today and priced it at $317/1000. But in a statement which a source close to AMD described as "frighteningly specific", the company gave warnings about both production and distribution of the part. |
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AMD sees red mist over 350MHz partsAugust 28, 1998 |
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has denied
that the story which appeared in yesterday's issue of The
Register is true. We reported yesterday that there were additional cautionary statements in a press release about its K6-2 350MHx part which went beyond the usual sort of statements in such a release. Frenzied phone calls from AMD today tried to kill our story. But the chip company, so far, has failed to provide evidence that it can produce enough chips for the market. |
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Intel plans PC overhaul in 1999By Lisa DiCarlo August 28,1 998 |
Several advanced technologies under
development at Intel Corp. are shaping up to make next
year's desktops seem like distant cousins of today's PCs. At its Developer Forum next month, Intel (INTC) will discuss complete system redesigns in 1999 based on its 450MHz Katmai processor and Katmai New Instructions, which will improve three-dimensional and floating-point-intensive applications such as spreadsheets and object-oriented databases. |
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Intel All For New PCI-Based Bus StandardBy Mark LaPedus August 28, 1998 |
While Intel Corp. lurks behind the
scenes for a change, a group of leading notebook PC
makers have banded together to support a new PCI-based
bus standard in portable designs. Compaq, Dell, NEC, Toshiba, and others have announced a so-called Mini PCI specification, a proposed standard that potentially eliminates proprietary daughter-card solutions in mobile platforms. Intel, the developer and major proponent of the PCI bus standard, is not one of the driving forces behind Mini PCI but insisted it was in favor of the specification in spite of reports to the contrary. |
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Intel Attacks ISAAugust 31, 1998 |
Intel is planning to charge more in 1999
for chipsets that support the ISA bus than for chipsets
that do not support the ISA architecture. This move will
push the industry to keep ISA out of new PCs. Intel is
hoping to eliminate ISA from new PCs by the year 2000. ISA is mainly used today for sound cards and modems. Intel is planning to get the industry to move sound and modem functions to AMR cards that they will detail in September. Apparently, the cards will work with Intel chipsets to use Intel processors to do most of the grunt work in processing sound and modem functions. |
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Intel, AMD Micros Blur Performance ContrastsBy Margaret Quan August 30, 1998 |
The performance boundaries between
microprocessors aimed at the low and high ends of the PC
market continue to blur, with Intel introducing faster
models of its Celeron and Pentium II processors, and
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rolling out a souped-up
version of the K6-2. But analysts said the companies' strategies for the chips signal marketing considerations may count more than raw performance in determining how new processors are positioned and priced. |