Hmm intel and SiS might not have a future? Rumors inside

Remember this is a "rumor". It is not to be taken at face value yet.

SIS pushed into AMD's arms by Intel licensing intransigence

Business is business, but it might backfire

By Mike Magee: Wednesday 05 March 2003, 12:06


IT SEEMS THAT Intel is still refusing to license its 800MHz front side bus technology to plucky Taiwanese chipset firm Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS), and that means the firm is being pushed into a fevered embrace with Chipzilla's rival, AMD.
According to today's Digitimes, SIS has failed so far to license Intella technology for its own chipsets although roadmaps seen by the INQUIRER last week show that it's more than ready, willing and able to produce such technology if it's given a fair wind.

Instead, it appears as if SIS is receiving an unfair wind from Intel, which will be more than happy to hog the performance space with its Canterwood and Springdale (i875P and i865x) products, not only in its own Intel branded motherboards but in third party mobos too.

Digitimes reckons that will make SIS focus on Athlon64 (K8) chipsets and AthlonXP chipsets instead. But the refusal by Intel to license the technology may upset more than little SIS.

Taiwanese motherboard vendors familiar with the matter favour their homegrown semiconductor suppliers over Intel products, provided that is there is a choice.

Although the mobo vendors will undoubtedly release products based on Springdale and Canterwood, it's likely going to make them feel somewhat cheesed off that they're bounced into a sole supplier situation.

Digitimes also reports, in the story which you can find here, that ATI will launch its RS250 and M10 at Cebit, followed by the RS300 using the AGP8X RV280 core. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=8129

Keeps 800MHz chipsets under wraps

By Mike Magee: Wednesday 12 February 2003, 10:07


SIS AND ALI ARE desperately scrabbling to produce 800MHz "Springdale" compatible chipsets to keep up with Intel but so far haven't concluded licensing deals for the technology, a report claims today.
As we reported last November, Intel changed the goal posts on future Pentium 4 technology, and said the front side bus on its future Springdale chipsets would run at 800MHz rather than 667MHz.

That, according to a report in Digitimes today, means that SIS and ALi – each of which has a Pentium 4 licence agreements with Intel – won't show their versions of 800MHz chipsets for fear Intel might stomp one of its mighty feet on them.

Via is also understood to have plans to introduce 800MHz front side bus Pentium 4 chipsets, but as it is already engaged in worldwide litigation with the chip giant, proposes to steam ahead, regardless.

Meanwhile, EB News reports that Rambus will soon introduce four channel memory technology using 1200MHz RDRAM chips.

Unfortunately for Rambus, Intel now has extensive plans to rely on the double data rate (DDR) memory and while it will still produce its 850E RDRAM chipset for some time, the roadmap points in a different direction from the Los Altos HQ of the intellectual property outfit.

SIS already has an RDRAM chipset supporting 1066MHz memory and plans to introduce a further chipset during the course of this year. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7743

By Mike Magee: Thursday 30 January 2003, 08:23


A REPORT IN TODAY'S Economic News, a Taiwanese newspaper, claims that Intel may delay giving a new licence for technology in Pentium 4 chips to Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS).
The reason, the paper claims, is because of the ever closer links between SIS and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC).

Over the last several weeks, UMC has taken larger and larger shares in SIS, which makes chipsets for AMD and Intel motherboards. Earlier this week, the current head of SIS was replaced by a UMC placeman.

UMC, the second biggest foundry, or fabricator of semiconductor chips, makes semiconductors for AMD, Intel's chief rival in the X86 business.

So, the paper claims, Intel has told its Taiwanese office to keep its eye on how far the UMC-SIS alliance goes.

SIS was an early licensee of Intel Pentium 4 technology and has gained market share in that business. Its rival, Via, also makes chipsets for Intel Pentium 4 motherboards but claims it doesn't need a licence – a fact that has pitted both companies against each other in law courts worldwide. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7498


Personally I think this will hurt intel a bit. As SiS has been offering the best value chipsets for their product for a while (Also offering the best Value chipsets for AMD as well (K7S5a)


Thoughts?

[Esturk]

As far as I know SIS was never a great company. To me I don't really care either way because I'd take a VIA or Intel chipset over a SIS chipset anyday. I don't mind spending the extra few dollars for quality.

[Gismo]

Originally posted by Esturk
As far as I know SIS was never a great company

just to know if u ever try a SiS product (chipset, integrated solutions or smthing other). Í think I've always a SiS integrated solution (chipset/gpu/spu) in the notebook I use (they have been always ASUS - and ASUS is a great company) and these SiS products make their work. I can also play ePSXe successfully at 800x600...

This post is NO OFFENSIVE at all, just to say that if u don't try smthing, u can't judge...

Thx, bye

[Demigod]

SiS makes solid P4 products but Intel doesn't really need them. Intel can hold the market on their own, the i845G/E chipsets offer good performance and price and Intel will soon have their Canterwood and Springdale chipsets out. SiS has enjoyed much success in the P4 market (no VIA presence) and I hope for their sake that this is just rumors.

my Celeron computer is based on a SiS chipset

[zerocopy]

my videocard is an sis chipset

[Particleman]

Damn, I like Intel and the quality of their products, but their business practices just stink. Them and their stupid licensing agreements so other companies can make motherboards for their chipsets just stinks. VIA just builds the chipsets anyways and then wories about the courts later (VIA usually wins the court battles) but you got to figure that going up in court against a huge company like Intel has got to hurt a relatively small company (relative to Intel that is). Plus Intel blacklists anyone who makes chipsets based on VIA P4 boards, not that I like VIA products, I just don't like this sort of business practice.

I would have loved to see a nForce board based for the P4 (Dual Channel DDR doesn't help that much on AMD chipsets), it would have come 1 and 1/2 years before Intel finally ditched RDRAM and gave us dual channel DDR.

[Player-X]

I pity you guys who use SIS chips,you really shoud get an upgrade espicaily you zerocopy

[zerocopy]

what do you mean??? that sis sucks, before you ridicule their products i advice you to try them out first. Your ignorance is more pitiful

[Player-X]

>what do you mean??? that sis sucks, before you ridicule their products i advice you to try them out first. Your ignorance is more pitiful

they don't suck,they don't rock either,from what i've read SIS chipsets lack a few fetures of more highend chipsets,Same with gfx card,If you can't afford anything better,fine by me.

besides it's just a suggestion.no more,no less.don't get too worked up about it

[Aleksei (St)]

sis chipsets for the AMD platform rocks(735,740)

and the 648 really is at the levels of any intel chipset

[zerocopy]

there you go again, looking down at bargain products. I dont get worked up about it, im only pointing out that there are cheaper alternatives and still get pretty decent perforamance. If you went and find out more about the sis xabre card's you'd be pretty surprised on how it does, my point before posting such crappy opinions do some research.

[Shiori]

What a load of bull, saying SiS is crap... granted, some products have been thrown in a bad light, but it doesn't mean all of them are that BAD.

And to people who believe higher price is synonymous with better quality all the time, I'd say you've been unnecessarily wasting money all this time. Smart consumers ALWAYS do their research and price comparisons before plunking down money for stuff. Regardless of whether you have money or not, decisions should IMO be always based on price to performance ratio, NOT brand recognition.

[Particleman]

According to Anandtech and the other sites that have reviewed boards based on SiS's 655 dual channel DDR chipset it is the best performing P4 chipset around. It also costs 50% less than Intel's granite bay.

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1784

I have read a lot of bad reviews on SiS's Xabre, but I have not tried one myself.

[Demigod]

Originally posted by Player-X
they don't suck,they don't rock either,from what i've read SIS chipsets lack a few fetures of more highend chipsets,Same with gfx card,If you can't afford anything better,fine by me.

besides it's just a suggestion.no more,no less.don't get too worked up about it

Actually SiS makes some very good chipsets. The 645 and 648 are a match for Intel's i845 chipsets in performance and features. The 648 even offers AGP 8x support. Intel's only chipset with AGP 8x is the costlier 7205 (Granite Bay).

Some of SiS's earlier chipsets for the Athlon weren't that great (VIA was always better) but they've shaped up since then.

[zerocopy]

trust me their xabre card's are worthwhile, here are a link's from "reliable" website's that made a review,
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2002/ecs/ag400/ag400p0.htm
http://www17.tomshardware.com/graphi...730/index.html
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...s/ecsxabre400/
http://www.3dnews.ru/reviews/video/xabre400/

[Aleksei (St)]

sis makes really good motherboard chipset i think that it is SIS strong point

[Chinoz]

sis 648 and sis 655 rock @$$. budget solutions, but never lacking in performance. i'd trade a sis 648 over my donkey intel 845 anyday.

Even more of the same. But this time Intel threatens them.

Intel bullies SIS, ALI over Pentium 4 chipsets

Don't you dare show off your boards

By Mike Magee: Friday 07 March 2003, 06:25


A REPORT IN THE Taiwanese press claimed that the Intel Corporation has warned its cherished chipset partners SIS and ALI not to show Pentium 4 products at next week's CeBIT show in Hannover.
But Via, which is not a licensee of Intel P4 technology but instead is waging litigation against Chipzilla, will go ahead and show off its offerings at the show. A festering case of chip war lawsuits exists between Via and Intel.

According to the Economic News, Intel will show off its 800MHz front side bus chipsets at the premier computer show.

But in a return to the bad old days, Intel has also apparently told Taiwanese motherboard makers not to use ALI or SIS chipsets using a 800MHz front side bus until it has licensed these companies for the design.

Most people think that Intel will eventually license its technology to SIS and to ALI, but plans to make them wait a bit.

As we reported yesterday, that has forced SIS and ALI to cosy up with deadly chip rival AMD at the show.

Via is, in the well known parlance, flipping the finger at Intel, and will show its Pentium 4 chipset offerings.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=8177


The sad thing is. If SiS/Ali were to just do it on their own. They'd get away with it. Intel has lost every legal dispute with Via so far...

[Aleksei (St)]

i think that more manufactures are always better(prices drop,more competition in performance)