Intel Still Loves Rambus

Electronic News, Oct 30, 2000

DON'T WORRY RAMBUS INC., Chip-Daddy still loves you. But you will have to stay in your room at the high-end of the PC market anyway. "We are still a believer in Rambus DRAM (RDRAM) for high-performance desktop applications," Craig Barrett, Intel Corp. president and chief executive officer, told InfoWorld during a visit to Taiwan last week.

Barrett downplayed the significance of his widely publicized comments to The Financial Times, where he said Intel took a bet on Rambus that "did not work out" and slammed Rambus' toll collecting tactics. "Let's desensationalize the quote," Barrett said. He said his comments were in response to a question about Intel's failed attempt to use RDRAM in mainstream PCs, based on the aborted Timna processor. The renewed vows of support come amid rumors that Intel could be preparing itself for a bitter legal split with its former sweetheart. In other news, Intel has also licensed some outside companies to make chipsets for the Pentium 4, Barrett revealed.