Much to the industry's surprise, Intel notified its clients in mid-November that it decided to change the FSB standard and memory architecture for Springdale chipsets from 667MHz and dual-channel DDR333 to 800MHz and dual-channel DDR400, respectively. Taiwanese chipset suppliers immediately revised their production plans.
With samples of its P4X600A expected to be finished in January, VIA is likely to be the first to introduce an 800MHz FSB and dual-channel DDR400 chipset. VIA said that the P4X600A will offer the technology support through overclocking.
To catch up to Intel's specification changes, Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) will now have to delay the launch of its SiS648FX until late in the first quarter of 2003. Though supporting an 800MHz FSB, the product will be based on single-channel DDR400. A newer-generation dual-channel DDR400 SiS648FX (official name undecided) will be launched in the second quarter of 2003, around the same time when Intel rolls out its Springdale chipset.
ALi Corporation (formerly Acer Laboratories) had originally planned to launch an updated chipset with 800MHz FSB and dual-channel DDR400 support, also through overclocking, in the second quarter of 2003 as a market-leading product. Given Intel's roadmap changes, the updated M1681 will no longer enjoy that position.
Intel's specification changes have no doubt increased the competition felt by the Taiwanese chipset designers, motherboard makers said. In the past, chipset companies have managed to keep their competitiveness with lower prices and more advanced specifications. As Intel greatly enhances its product features, board makers predicted that the overall ratio of Intel-platform products will continue rising in the first half of 2003.
Besides the pressure from Intel's faster specification updates, chipset designers may have to face the FSB technology licensing issue again. At present, all chipset companies are remaining very low-key about the topic.
Source: DigiTimes