CNET News meldt dat steeds meer computer fabrikanten (waaronder IBM) kiezen voor VIA Chipsets vanwege de vertragingen van Intel's i820. VIA heeft namelijk het voordeel dat ze wèl full 133MHz FSB support bieden, naast AGP 4X. Voor het volledige nieuwsbericht, klik hier.
Although the delay to the 820 will likely boost Via's fortunes in the market, PC manufacturers and analysts have pointed out that the company's products offer advantages over Intel chipsets.Via, for instance, makes Intel-compatible chipsets with a 133-MHz system bus, faster than 100-MHz system bus on most Intel chipsets. Some Via chipsets also support faster 133-MHz SDRAM. The system bus is a conduit for shuttling data between the processor and other components.
Today, Intel released the 810(e) chipset, which contains a 133-MHz system bus. However, the 810(e) works only with the slower 100-MHz SDRAM. An Intel chipset that can work with faster 133-MHz SDRAM will not come out until next year, the company has said. Via therefore can brag about performance advantages, analysts have said.
Via chipsets also are designed to work with SDRAM, today's standard computer memory. Although SDRAM has surged in price recently, it is cheaper than Rambus memory and a more familiar commodity. The 820 was to be Intel's first product fluent in Rambus.
Another plus: Via's latest chipsets can support AGP 4X, an internal technology that improves graphics performance and can wring out the best in the latest generation of chips. AGP is a technology invented by Intel. However, current Intel chipsets can only take advantage of the slower AGP 2X technology.
