Intel apparently doesn’t want its Tualatin PIIIs going into desktops. Rather, Tualatins are meant for portables, and it’s supposed to become a Willy desktop.
Not that Intel is going to arrest any OEM who does put one in a desktop system, but Intel wants to push Willy.
At least that makes some sense, a lot more than having a Tualatin not competing well enough against Palomino and too well against a Willy.
It does increase the odds of current Intel/BX loyalists being orphaned from upgrades, though. Hard to see Intel coming up with a Coppermine-X under such circumstances.
There seems to be some odd sort of disconnect here, like this is a recent Intel decision. Just whom are all these promised Intel DDR boards supposed to be for, old processors?
A lot of people have questioned the usefulness of going to AMD DDR systems over PC133. If a true DDR mobo does about what it does for AMD chips for the PIII; that upgrade doesn’t make too much sense, since there’s no faster processor to upgrade to later on.
If a DDR replacement is out of the question, and so is an AMD solution, that only leaves current Willies for the near future, you know, the ones that don’t do too well against AMD chips? I don’t think that’s going to sit too well even with BX board loyalists. Either that, or wait nine months to a year. You might need that long to save up for the upgrade, if current Willy pricing is any indicator. 🙂
Some of the analysts in the article I mentioned above seemed pretty skeptical about Intel getting rid of the PIII that fast, and I’m inclined to agree with them. I don’t think Tualatin is a good choice, but I can see a bunch of people who want to stay with Intel but don’t want Willy to demand it.
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