New Motherboards Could Cut PC Costs

Simplicity Plus Flexibility

Without standard risers, hardware makers must use several motherboard designs to handle different combinations of audio and network chips. The process drives up costs and limits the number of configurations.

Risers make it easier and cheaper to mix and match components. The goal: lower costs and more variety in desktop PC configurations. It could especially help slim "legacy-free" PCs, which come network-ready but omit older PC connectors, such as parallel ports.

"By consolidating motherboard designs and getting a more flexible solution, you should see lower costs," predicts Tom Matson, director of marketing for Intel's OEM Platform Solutions Division.

The first products that use the new specs could appear within six months, representatives of both ACR and CNR say.

Intel's Matson promises "plug fests" demonstrating riser interoperability. By mid-year, "you're certainly going to see a critical mass of risers with key functionality by different vendors," he says.

Intel's spec isn't standard, says Bert McComas, founder of InQuest Market Research. "It appears the Intel solution is not backward-compatible with AMR," McComas says. ACR's spec is, which could help ACR beat CNR to market.

Intel sacrificed hardware-level backward compatibility to retain the space-saving dual CNR/PCI slot, at hardware vendors' request, Matson says.

ACR also supports broadband digital subscriber line and, later, wireless networking, while the Intel does not mention these.

Matson says Intel decided to wait, because DSL standards remain in flux. CNR supports DSL through an internal Universal Serial Bus connection.