Computex sends good message

IT show will finally take place in Taipei this week after three-month delay

Following a three-month delay because of the Sars outbreak, the Computex 2003 show will finally take place in Taipei this week.

One of the leading three IT shows in the world, Computex will run from 22 to 26 September, hosting over 1,200 exhibitors. Like the CeBIT show in Hanover, Computex hosts a diverse range of exhibitors from many IT sectors.

It is a showcase for the latest systems, components, peripherals, communications products and software.

According to the chairman of the Taipei Computer Association, Frank Huang, close to 44 per cent of visitors at Computex 2002 were buyers, mostly from Asia and North America.

"I am expecting the exhibition to give Taiwan's computer and electronics sector a much-needed boost," Huang said.

News is already leaking out about what certain high-profile players will be unveiling. NVidia is expected to give people a first look at the upcoming NV36 and NV38 graphics processing units, but not the much-talked-about NV40, the next-generation nVidia processor.

Acer is expected to head the notebook charge, debuting its 15.4in widescreen, Centrino-powered notebook. Acer's notebook, which is being manufactured by Compal, will be among the first in a new wave of 15.5in models. Hewlett Packard and Dell are also planning 15.4in launches in the third quarter.

HP and Acer are just two PC notebook vendors also expected to introduce 17in widescreen notebooks in the coming months.

Gigabyte Technology will take the wraps off its Pentium 4 (P4) Titan 848P series motherboards, designed to offer 800MHz FSB P4 with Hyper-Threading technology to the value PC sector.

Silicon Integrated Systems is also expected to show off its recently announced series of notebook chipsets that support Intel's Pentium M processor.

These include the SiS162 wireless local area network chipset, the discrete chipset SiS648MX and the integrated chipset SiSM661MX. With a 400MHz system bus, the SiS648MX supports memory up to DDR 3G and the AGP 8X graphics interface.