Chip set vendors eye DDR for Intel's Willamette

Chip set vendors eye DDR for Intel's Willamette
SAN JOSE, Calif. — While Intel Corp. has said its forthcoming Willamette CPU will work only with Rambus memory, sources say at least two independent chip set vendors are developing parts to link the GHz processor with a Rambus alternative: double-data-rate (DDR) SDRAM components.

Both Via Technologies Inc. and Acer Laboratories Inc. (ALI) already produce chip sets for the current generation of Pentium chips that use standard SDRAM. Both companies, attending the Platform Conference here this week, gave advance looks at the new versions of those devices for DDR that they will roll out shortly.

But on the eve of its biggest microprocessor launch in years, Intel Corp. finds itself squeezed between its public support for Rambus memory technology and the possibility that a slow Rambus DRAM ramp will drag down the early, high-priced sales of Willamette.

The CPU will use a completely new front-side bus, which means that third-party chip set companies that want to market Willamette-compatible parts will need to negotiate a new bus-licensing agreement with Intel. Launching next quarter at clock rates north of 1 GHz, Willamette will only work with Rambus memory because traditional SDRAM architectures will not allow the device to deliver its best performance, Intel has claimed.

But limited availability of Rambus parts may be forcing Intel to rethink that decision. "We don't believe there will be enough Rambus parts available, and that may hinder the Willamette launch," said Sherry Garber, memory analyst for Semico Research Corp. (Phoenix). "Intel will not sacrifice the Willamette launch in order to support Rambus, and the product just isn't there now."

That leaves Intel with the choice of licensing its new bus architecture to outside chip set vendors for use with DDR memory. They are already in the final test stages for Tehama, the Intel-designed chip set for the Willamette and RDRAM, and they have repeatedly stated that they will not design in-house a chip set for DDR memory. Indeed, Intel may be barred from supporting DDR by a 1997 deal with Rambus.

Bob Merritt, chip set analyst for Semico, said Via and ALI are the two most logical candidates to take on this task because they already produce Intel-compatible chip sets. A third possibility, Server Works, declined to comment on whether they are planning to enter that market.

Eric Chang, Via's marketing director, said his company plans to produce a DDR chip set for the Willamette, which will likely be called the ApolloPro 2001, and should sample in late 2001. He confirmed that Via has already asked Intel to grant them a bus license for the new part, but left open the notion of shipping the chip set without a license.

Via incurred the wrath of Intel last year for delivering a PC133 chip set for use with Intel processors. Intel filed a patent-infringement suit against the chip set vendor claiming that its license did not permit the use of that specific memory format. Via continued to ship the part in large numbers while the legal conflict dragged on, and that dispute was settled just a few weeks ago.

"History will repeat itself," Chang predicted. "We have 40 percent of the chip set market. Intel can't afford to ignore us. They need our help."

Nancy Hartsoch, ALI's vice president of marketing and sales and chief operating officer, said her company also is negotiating with Intel for a Willamette bus license, but noted that one of ALI's key business principles is to respect other firms' intellectual property rights. "We won't put out any parts until we have all the licenses that are required," she said.

Merritt suggested that early Willamette yields may be one of the key factors prompting Intel to grant the coveted bus licenses. If yields are good, the company will want to sell as many of the chips as it can produce, and that will almost certainly require the support of an alternate memory format like DDR.

"Intel is in business to sell processors. They sacrificed some of their market share in the chip set business by sticking to Rambus in the past over PC133," said Merritt. "But there is no way that they will stand by Rambus if it means sacrificing a major microprocessor rollout."