IBM not selling 1.1GHz Athlon boxes in US

1GHz PIII shortages kick in

By Linda Harrison, 11th September 2000

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IBM will reveal what machines it will be launching based on AMD's Athlon 1.1GHz this week - but it will not be shipping them in the US.

Big Blue said it plans to announce the spec and price of models using the monster chip towards the end of the week. However, it appears there is not enough interest in the US market to warrant a launch here.

"IBM bases its decision upon customer demand and customer feedback," said one IBM representative. However, she added that this did not preclude a launch in the future if user interest grew.

The company will be launching "several models" of desktop based on the 1.1GHz Athlon in every geographical area except the US.

Gateway started shipping its Athlon 1.1GHz machines in the US last week - according to its Web site, the Select 1100 costs $2499 before tax, with 128MB SDRAM, 45GB hard drive, and 19in monitor. It started shipping in the UK today.

But how are the shortages of Intel's PIII 1GHz chip affecting vendors? IBM in the US currently has a back order of one week, and Gateway's Performance 1000 - with 128MB memory and 45GB hard drive, priced at $2499 - cannot be delivered for about one month. This is around one week longer than it'll take to get the Athlon 1.1GHz machines from Gateway. Neither company chose to comment on the PIII 1GHz chip shortages.

Dell, which has an Intel-only policy, said it was not experiencing 1GHz PIII chip shortages. Its Dimension 4100 and XPS B models are based on the chip. The Dimension 4100 starts at $1559, with 128MB SDRAM and 20GB hard drive, while the XPS starts at $2199 with 128MB RDRAM and 39GB hard drive. ®