Coppermine to miss Intel delays

Intel does not expect the current shortages of components and the delay of its 820 Rambus ready chipset to affect sales of its Coppermine processors.

Intel does not expect the current shortages of components and the delay of its 820 Rambus ready chipset to affect sales of its Coppermine processors.

On Monday Intel launched 15 versions of its Pentium III and PIII Xeon chip for desktops, servers and notebooks. Reaching speeds of up to 733MHz, the processors are based on 0.18 micron Coppermine technology which gives an increase in speed of up to 28 per cent on previous micron technology.

The introduction of the chips comes when various PC component sectors are suffering shortages. Memory modules are currently in short supply due to under-production and the Taiwan earthquake, with waits of up to twelve weeks for modules occurring.

Sales are starting to stagnate in the channel due to high prices. A dearth of graphics cards, keyboards, mice and possibly monitors next year are a cause for concern.

Intel was also caught out by demand for its BX chipsets creating a shortage which it is recovering from. Despite these shortages Intel has said it does not expect to suffer a negative impact on sales.

The Intel 840 Carmel Rambus ready chipset for workstations and servers has also been released.