April 2, 2007 – Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. has signed a long-term licensing deal to manufacture and sell chipsets compatible with Intel’s Core 2 Quad processors, according to the Taiwan Economic News.
Daniel Chen, president/CEO of SiS, said samples of 1.333GHz front-side bus technology will be delivered in 3Q07. Intel is bundling the chipsets on its branded motherboards this year for the first time, noted the paper.
Rival Via Technologies signed a four-year deal in 2003 to make chipsets supporting Intel’s 800-1066MHz processors through this year, but the paper questioned the future of an extension of that deal. Chipsets currently account for as much as 70% of Via’s revenue, and the company may be forced to shift emphasis to PC peripheral ICs and ultramobile PCs.