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Intel Delays Timna

Memory problem forces chip giant to redesign low-end product for 2001 launch.

By James Niccolai, IDG News   

Intel originally designed Timna to work with Rambus memory (RDRAM). But prices for RDRAM didn't drop the way the company expected, so Intel decided to reconfigure Timna to use less expensive SDRAM, using a component known as a Memory Translator Hub (MTH).

Therein lies the problem. In May, Intel announced it would recall thousands of motherboards designed around its 820 chip set because of a problem with the MTH that has the potential to cause system failures. The chip maker is apparently unwilling to risk using the same MTH with its Timna processor, so Intel is quickly designing a new one.

"We've determined that [today's MTH] doesn't meet Intel's standards for quality and reliability," says Seth Walker, Intel spokesperson. "As such, we will design a new memory interface product to be used specifically with Timna."

"Intel is going to wait to ship the Timna processor until that new memory interface is complete," and until PC manufacturers are ready to launch Timna-based systems into the market, Walker says.

Walker says Intel has stopped work altogether on a new MTH. Just last week Intel sources said the company was working on a new MTH for use with the 820 chip set and Timna. That plan apparently changed abruptly Monday.

Not a Chip Problem

Intel insisted that the delay isn't due to any problems with the Timna processor itself--only with the memory interface that connects the processor to SDRAM memory chips.

While the delay may bruise Intel's pride, at least one analyst says today's news isn't very significant for the company from a competitive standpoint, or for consumers.

Timna's design, which integrates the processor, graphics chip, and memory controllers onto a single piece of silicon, might help reduce the overall cost of building a PC by as much as $25 for PC manufacturers. But a savings that small is unlikely to translate into lower system prices for consumers, according to Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with research firm Insight 64.

In addition, Timna is unlikely to offer a significant performance boost over a standard Celeron processor used in conjunction with Intel's 810E chip set, which includes an integrated graphics chip, Brookwood says.

"Intel's branding strategy was never really to say 'Here's a hot new product,'" Brookwood says. "Timna was going to be slipped in there as another one of the Celerons."

Intel's main rival, Advanced Micro Devices, doesn't offer an integrated processor to compete with Timna. Taiwan's Via Technologies is developing an integrated device, but it's not clear yet when that product will ship, and Via's products are aimed more at manufacturers in Asia, Brookwood says.

Intel will devote the additional capacity in its manufacturing plants that it saves from delaying Timna to producing more of its high-performance Pentium III processors, which have been in short supply. However, Intel still expects supplies of those processors to remain tight into the second half of this year, he says.

Tom Mainelli of PC World contributed to this report.