Intel Chip Sets Offer Graphic Choices

Intel launches on Monday its 815 and 815E chip sets, its first to support the PC-133 SDRAM memory specification. Geared toward users of midrange PCs, the chip sets let vendors pair everything from low-end Celeron processors to high-speed Pentium III chips with memory that costs significantly less than the Intel-backed Rambus memory (RDRAM) standard. Several vendors, including Micron and Gateway, are immediately shipping systems that use the chip sets; Dell and others will follow this summer.

Similar to Intel's existing 810 and 810E chip sets for budget systems, the 815 and 815E offer integrated graphics. However, the 815 products give both the PC vendor and buyer more graphics options. The 810 chip set has one graphics option, a 4MB display cache memory chip that sits on the motherboard and solely handles 3D functions (that configuration is technically known as the 810-DC100).

With the 815 products, PC vendors can choose to use the integrated graphics controller, integrated graphics controller supported by a 4MB graphics performance accelerator (GPA) card in an AGP slot, or a third-party 4X AGP graphics controller in the AGP slot. Graphics upgrades are not limited to the vendor: Using the AGP slot, consumers who buy an 815- or 815E-based system can also upgrade to the graphics card option themselves.

Graphic Choices

Intel's three-option graphics solution offers consumers the best of both worlds, says Kevin Krewell, senior analyst with MicroDesign Resources. You can get just the basics, or you can pay more and get noticeably better performance.

The integrated graphics option is the least expensive, but it offers the lowest quality of graphics, which is fine if you need just a basic system to run business applications, Krewell says. The 4MB graphics accelerator (a graphics memory card that Intel claims can boost 3D performance up to 30 percent over a basic system without the card) is for those in the middle. Intel estimates the part, which goes into the 4X AGP slot, will cost vendors less than $10. If only the best graphics will do for you, there's the 4X AGP option with a good graphics card. That should offer excellent 3D graphics for PC games or other programs, he says.

The 815 chip sets may cost a little more than 810 chip sets because of their fully integrated graphics, Krewell says. Also, the 815 chip sets with integrated graphics will likely cost slightly less than Intel's aging 440BX chip set, because you must also buy a graphics card with the 440BX. The 815 chip sets plus a graphics card will probably cost a bit more than the 440BX.

The 815 chip sets should appeal to mainstream business and home PC buyers, he says. The 810 chip sets will likely reside in sub-$1000 systems. The 815 chip sets will fill the midrange of $1000 to $2000, and the Rambus-ready 820 chip set will land in systems priced above $2000.

Intel's main chip set competition is Via Technologies, which offers similar functions--including PC-133 support--in its Apollo Pro133A. Via will probably price that product lower than the price at which Intel sells the 815 chip sets, but the Apollo Pro133A doesn't have the integrated graphics option, Krewell says.