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Long-Delayed Rambus Machines May Show at Comdex
Sokie writes "IBM, H-P, Micron, and Dell all plan to unveil Rambus based machines at the upcoming Comdex in Las Vegas, NV according to C|Net News. Intel, however, won't confirm that the 820 chipset will be out by then. I can just imagine the heads that would roll if Intel postponed the release again, the OEMs are still probably a bit grumpy after last time."
==BEGIN CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY
Intel are deliberately delaying 820 in order to create an artificial demand for BX chipsets. Motherboard manufacturers then have to rely on Intel being nice and supplying them with lots of BX chipsets which weren't pre-ordered. Now, are Intel going to favour manufacturers who are also producing Athlon motherboards?
==END CRAZY CONSPIRACY THEORY
Of course, Intel wouldn't do anything so cynical.
Feed the hungry. Save the whales. Free the mallocs.
Ever since Intel stopped manufacturing processors and started manufacturing marketing gimmicks, they've been slipping behind giving other companies like AMD the space to edge into the market. If Intel spent half the money on technology that they do on marketing and/or developing faster processors, there would be far less setbacks, and we would have superior machines.
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
The idea of general purpose computing is falling down. When you want a game-computer, you get game-instructions. When you want multimedia, you get MultiMediaX10sions.
This means that real general purpose programming is _*relatively*_ becoming slower.
Since all computing is getting faster that is not a real problem. The second solution to that problem is connectivity. When you need the solution to a problem, why not beam it to a computer that can handle all this speciality for your specific problem (rent Cray-time, etc).
nosig today
Writing a piece of code to run well on a Cray or Convex is not easy. You need to worry about all sorts of nasties like NUMA, messaging speed and so forth. Even non-parallel code must be concerned about I/O time. Databases have used their own raw partitions and caching schemes for years.
Even some PC software is written with the memory heirarchy in mind. You want your working set to fit in the cache, page table or whatever. RAMBUS just presents a new organization for which to optimize. Writing good code that takes advantage of the hardware makes a big difference. It's for this reason that programmers need to understand the hardware they're working with.
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DDR-SDRAM 's capable FSB speed = 266mhz
Athlon 's current FSB = 200mhz (to be raised to 266 once a chipset is created to support DDR)
RAMBUS 's capable FSB speed = 400mhz ? (there is a less powerfull version that will not allow 133mhz fsb speeds, which I don't understand)
Intel's current mobo FSB = 133mhz
Athlon's current mobo FSB = 200mhz (on the CPU bus, but can take full advantate of the 133mhz memory)
The big problem right now for AMD is the fact that Intel has their L2 cache integrated on the die, and will allow their processors to ramp up in speed without the degredation of L2 speed (which will occur with the athlon).
AMD needs to get on die L2 soon, the 1/2, 1/3 divider for processor memory is really bad news. The fact is, that without the "celeron" tested technology, the new coppermine processors wouldn't be near as fast as they AREN'T..
I own a p3-550 right now, I will not buy anything, until the hardware manufacturers get over this little war over memory (and those poor people in Taiwan get their country back in %100 order).
One last note... Asus not releasing Athlon mobo's.. what the heck more does the justice department need to nail intel with unfair business practices? This is ridiculous, AMD is being forced farther into the red because nobody is willing to step up to intel?!
What a sorry state of affairs we are in right now...
-Dextius Alphaeus
-- Java is not a Jedi trait... "do, or do not, there is no try" --
on RAMBUS, intel chipsets, ram manufactures, sdram, and all the other good stuff...
"i820 - the story of one failure"
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There is no statute of limitation on stupidity.
Unfortunately, Intel managed develop brand power with their incessant advetising, and this has created an impression among OEMs that consumers will respond to this and look for the "Intel Inside" sticker.
Whether they do or not, its the self-fulfilling prophecy of advertising. The OEMs are strongly dependent on Intel. Now more dependent than they were on Microsoft. They'll take whatever they're given with a smile.
Everyone knows that the Athlon is mad fast and is an excellent option for those on a budget. It is not as cheap as previous AMD processors because it is advanced and FAST. However, if AMD goes through the cost of developing a new chipset incorporating L2 right now, they will be so far into the red that they will sink like a guy with a lead shoes. AMD is staying narrowly afloat by getting by on a shoestring development budget which has worked so far because they have done nothing revolutionary. In the future though Intel may be able to pull ahead simply because it's market share allows them to charge so much more for a processor that is currently good, but it also supports a massive bloated development effort.
For the future of computer processors, something revolutionary must happen in the basic development. The little copper wires in chips can only be so small and close before they stop working. Intel and IBM are currently working to deveolop the future which is supported by the bloated profit margins of both companies. They will be the ones who develop tomorrows technology. When they do, AMD will make it slower but cheaper, and eventually develop the technology slightly further themselves.
As for memory prices they are infuriating, but what are you gonna do?? So your paying what you would have paid 2 years ago for the same memory? There is nothing to be done but wait, curse, and try to find some newbie with some extra memory, punch him in the balls and take IT!!!!!