With all that Intel has going these days, a chipset shootout had to come about eventually. Well, this is the case at TH, anyway.

It has been three months since Intel introduced its first mobile dual-core processor platform, code-named “Napa” now called “Centrino Duo.” Those who thought that these new, fast and energy-efficient dual-core processors would knock the Pentium M off its pedestal overnight soon learned to curb their enthusiasm. The bad news was initially brought to the forefront in a lead story from Taiwanese news service Digitimes last March. Large laptop and notebook vendors such as Acer, Asus, Dell, and HP had reduced already-committed orders for Centrino Duo platform CPUs and chipsets by 30% to 50%. Among the reasons for this sudden move, Digitimes reported, was that these companies were sitting on large parts inventories owing to an unexpected drop in market demand in the first-quarter 2006.

Some of the drop in demand can be attributed to forward-looking users who want to wait for other CPU products coming in the near future. Other users probably do not want to pay more for a new notebook or laptop compared to what they previously paid, and are willing to wait for discounts on dual core devices. There is also a tendency for some consumers to hold back because they’re waiting for native 64-bit support. The delayed launch of Windows Vista, now set for 2007, also contributed to reduced demand for dual.

Also, many consumers are waiting for Microsoft to release a finalized USB Scheduler bug fix before investing in a new platform. The aforementioned patch will hopefully repair a problem with excess power consumption that was discovered by Tom’s Hardware Guide. It involves a significant battery drain when laptops, Core Duo or not are connected to devices with USB connections….. Source: TH

[tags]intel chipset,centrino duo,usb scheduler,aforementioned patch[/tags]