Intel plays 'Mobile Module' card

Electronic News, Feb 17, 1997 by Jim DeTar

Santa Clara, Calif.--Intel will today mount a strategic assault in the notebook PC chip market with the introduction of an innovative "Mobile Module." The module, which is about the size of a PCMCIA add-in card, integrates all of the chips that are likely to change in portable systems as microprocessor speeds go up, including the microprocessor, mobile PCI chipset, L2 cache, voltage regulator and system clock. The Mobile Module is designed to enable portable systems vendors to simply swap out cards as microprocessor speeds go up.

Intel plans to sell the Mobile Module cards directly to notebook PC OEM vendors, thereby wedging a wider opening in the small form factor systems market. This Mobile Module card is one component of a strategic thrust that also includes the introduction today of the 430TX PCIset, a new Pentium PCI chipset for portable systems; and the 380 Dock Set, a desktop PC docking station chipset.

The module, chipset and docking chipset move Intel another step closer to the goal of offering simultaneous PC and portable versions of its processors, according to Stephen Nachsheim, VP and GM of Intel's Mobile and Handheld Products Group.

"Mobile systems have traditionally lagged behind in performance and technology features," Mr. Nachsheim said. "The Mobile Module is going to go a long way towards helping OEMs close the performance gap between desktops and mobile systems."

The delays in making previous generation transitions have been costly to Intel, according to Tony Sica, Intel's marketing manager for the Mobile Modules Operation. "Intel paid dearly for the bump from 486 to Pentium in the notebook market, which took one year to get companies shipping," Mr. Sica told Electronic News in an interview.

This year, as Intel crosses over from the Pentium to the Pentium Pro as its mainstream processor, Intel wants to be prepared. The products Intel is introducing today will all enable a transition to the planned Deschutes version of Pentium Pro due out later this year. In the meantime, notebook OEMs will debut the products with Pentium inside. "In the next couple of months OEMs will announce systems with the Mobile Module inside. Look for a number of platforms at (the upcoming European trade show) CeBIT," Mr. Sica said.

Intel is initially offering the Mobile Module configured with: Pentium Processor with MMX Technology (either 150MHz or 166MHz), Intel 430TX PCIset chipset, L2 cache, system clock and voltage regulation logic. To dissipate heat, Intel has integrated a heat pipe on the Mobile Module that connects to a remote heat exchanger at the outer edge of the notebook PC's casing, working much like the radiator on a car.

The goal for the Mobile Module, Mr. Sica said, is to put on a single board all the elements that will change from microprocessor generation to generation. "It will allow quick time to market and volume production at launch. The bottom line is that to get to market quickly OEMs don't have to devote resources to redesigning."

The Mobile Module at 166MHz with 256KB L2 cache is sampling priced at $628 each in 1,000-unit quantities, while the Mobile Module at 150MHz with 256KB L2 cache is $425 in same quantities.

At the same time, Intel will today debut the 430TX PCIset chipset, which consumes up to a claimed 75 percent less power than the company's earlier 430MX PCIset chipset. The 430TX PCIset is comprised of two chips: the 82439TX System Controller in 324-connector BGA (ball grid array) packaging and the 8271AB PCI I/O ISA/IDE Xcelerator in 324 BGA packaging. The chipset is currently in production priced at $32.50 per set in quantities of 1,000 units.

The new 430TX PCIset will incorporate Intel's DPMA, or dynamic power management architecture, which enables three power management options: built-in power management, user-directed power management and OS directed power management (ACP). Intel estimates that mobile systems with the 430TX PCIset will hit the market in early 1998.

"This new generation of PCIset brings a number of important 'firsts' to the PC," asserted Avtar Saini, GM and VP of Intel's Platform Components Division. The 430TX "is the first PCIset for mobile with support for Concurrent PCI (PCI 2.1) which reduces CPU latencies for smoother video and sharper audio," Mr Saini said, "and Universal Serial Bus (USB) which makes possible quick connections to high performance peripherals."

The third addition to Intel's new mobile platform is the 380FB Intel Dock Set which is currently in production priced at $28 each in 1,000-unit quantities.