June 9, 1997
The processor wars: Slot 1 vs. Socket 7
By Bob O'Donnell
When companies start to become large and powerful, it's easy to slip into thinking that
whatever they do will succeed. Of course, in many cases their new initiatives do succeed
and end up creating important de facto standards. But that's not always the case. Any
business-school student can point out numerous examples of big plans that backfired.
Remember New Coke?
Intel's recent decision to abandon its previous microprocessor packaging with the
introduction of the Pentium II may
end up as yet another classic marketing blunder in the business-management textbooks of
the 21st century.
The concern lies with the mechanism by which the connection is made to the computer's
motherboard. By moving to the proprietary Slot 1 architecture and abandoning the huge
industry built up around Socket 7-based, or even Socket 8-based machines (which are used
for Pentiums and Pentium Pros, respectively), Intel is betting that it has the marketing
clout to create a new standard. Apparently not content with setting a standard, Intel also
hopes to makes a few bucks on the deal by requiring competitors to pay licensing fees for
using Slot 1.
The truth is, Intel might have had the clout, particularly if it had made this move
about a year or so ago when it didn't really have any serious competition. Right now,
however, with the hard-charging efforts of Advanced Micro
Devices' K6, the newly introduced 6x86MX from Cyrix and
IBM, and lots of other efforts from other companies at the low end of the microprocessor
market, Intel's step is probably one of the biggest risks it has ever taken.
As I've discussed before,
the Pentium II wasn't delivered with the Pentium II-enhanced chip sets, which is keeping
the impressively powerful Pentium II-based systems from being a complete slam dunk. There
are very reasonable arguments that both the AMD and Cyrix/IBM offerings are better choices
for many applications, particularly in terms of price/performance ratios.
On top of all this, Intel's current road map for the future shows the Slot 1
architecture giving way to Slot 2 with the introduction of the P7 Merced chips in 1999 --
a mere 18 months away. So, Slot 1 is essentially an abandoned step on the painful road to
progress. The question I have is what are all the Intel customers lapping up Pentium IIs
right now going to think about this? What ever happened to backward compatibility?
Given the developments surrounding the K6 and 6x86MX, it's clear there's plenty of life
left in those old Socket 7 slots. In fact, Via Technology even announced a chip set, the Apollo3, that will bring Accelerated Graphics
Port (AGP) support to Socket 7 motherboards and systems -- a step that Intel does not plan
to match.
So, if I can get Pentium II-quality performance and support for AGP, SDRAM, Ultra-DMA,
and all the other hot performance technologies in a cheaper Socket 7-based system that is
available from a variety of vendors, why shouldn't I?
Well the short answer to that question is because those machines won't have "Intel
Inside" and, like it or not, that's a powerfully disturbing thought to many, if not
most, people. Intel owns microprocessor mind share and there seems to be a real fear of
going with an alternative. This is clearly demonstrated by system vendors, very few of
whom have announced systems based on the clearly impressive AMD and Cyrix/IBM offerings.
In addition, even despite certain performance bottlenecks, Intel's Pentium II
processors are still the fastest chips around for most applications, including business
and entertainment, and the price differences between the slightly slower K6- and
6x86MX-based systems don't seem to be enough to cause enough people to make the jump.
Still, Intel's competitors are showing that there's still plenty of room for processor
improvements, even within the constraints of existing technologies such as Socket 7. And
given that many motherboard companies are cranking out Socket 7-based circuit boards, as
well as the fact that millions of people with Socket 7 computers are wondering how they
can get access to the latest processor technologies, the computer-industry's momentum may
favor the x86 clones.
There's no question that Intel will maintain its dominance in the industry, but I think
there is some question about whether Slot 1 will prove to be the development that helps
keep it there.
©
Copyright 1997, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
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