ATI has rescheduled the launch of its RD600 chipset supporting the Intel platform until October, with motherboard makers showing reluctance to roll out products based on the new chipset, according to sources.
Prior to AMD and ATI's merger announcement in July, motherboard makers had shown
considerable interest in supporting the RD600, which originally had been scheduled
for launch in August, sources at motherboard makers said.
But since the announcement of the acquisition, motherboard makers are worried that
AMD may discontinue or reduce the supply of RD600 and other ATI chipsets for the
Intel platform, according to Digitimes.com.
The sources also pointed out that Intel's licensing agreement with ATI limits the
front-side bus (FSB) clock speed to 1066MHz and slower, so when Intel unveils its
new FSB specification at 1333MHz next year, ATI may not be allowed to roll out
chipsets supporting the new specification. Because of these reasons, the sources
claimed that ATI has revealed to motherboard makers that it will not invest
further in Intel platforms.
ATI maintained that its RD600 will be unveiled as scheduled in October.