Intel Revises Chip-Set Road Map

July 16, 1998 (5:08 PM EDT)

By Mark Hachman and Sandy Chen,

Intel has begun advising its customers of a minor revision in its chip-set road map, inserting the 440ZX chip set as an option for low-cost PCs.

The 440ZX -- a temporary name, according to customers -- is designed to be a low-cost version of the 440BX core architecture. The chip set will succeed the 440EX chip set currently used with Intel's Celeron processors in PCs costing less than $1,200.

But for now, the 440ZX will use a 66-MHz system bus, leading customers to believe a second, 100-MHz version will be added at a later date, or will replace the 66-MHz version in production. Customers speculated the new chip set could be used with a MicroATX motherboard, using the new socket version of Intel's forthcoming Mendocino Celeron processor.

The 440ZX will sample between September to October 1998, with limited production beginning in December. Full-volume production will begin in the first quarter, with the chip's official launch in January 1999. Features include support for 2 dual in-line memory modules, 256 megabytes of total memory, 3 peripheral component interconnect slots, and a single microprocessor, according to customers.

An Intel (company profile) spokesman declined to comment on unannounced products.