Computex: Acer's P4 DDR

Monday , we told you about Intel putting together its own non-Rambus chipsets and mentioned that it had licensed the technology to both Acer and Taiwan's Silicon Integrated Systems. Well it looks like Acer is right on time with a chipset to compete with Intel's own. Whether it is based on Intel's chipset design is unclear, but yesterday, the company previewed a DDR/SDR chipset that supports the Intel Pentium 4 platform as well as DDR-based integrated 3D graphics/core logic notebook chipsets CyberMAGiK and CyberALADDiN. If you recall, Intel's chipset supports DRAM chips running at 133 Mhz, so in theory, Acer is planning on giving you the added option of using DDR chips instead of RIMMs. While Intel seems to be targeting the high and low-end solutions (Rambus and DRAM) Acer seems to be aiming for a compromise at the mid-range by supporting DDR. We say mid-range, not necessarily by virtue of performance, but based on price and availability. The Register ran an interesting story about the Rambus/DDR dilemma a while back. Let's not go sending any religious flames about Rambus chips having a slight performance advantage. From a business perspective, supporting the DDR/P4 combination looks like a comfortable (financial) middle ground for users. Get extended Computex show coverage by signing on for Tom's Hard Newsletter here .