Slot 1 close to death as Intel's plans for CuMine unfold

Sources close to Intel's plans have revealed that when it introduces Coppermine technology next month, the chips will use a different naming convention as well as extra silicon bells and whistles. Documents seen by The Register show that Intel plans to release a whole rash of .18 micron processors, not only at higher clock speeds, but also with 256K of on die, full speed level two cache. The processors will have the naming conventions E, B, and EB, to distinguish them from current Pentium III Slot 1 processors. However, it will be some time before Slot 1 parts disappear entirely, and Intel will run the two lines in tandem, cutting prices as it ramps up its production. The "E" designation represents the Coppermine family, while the "designation" refers to parts supporting the 133MHz FSB (front side bus). Intel will produce 550E and 500E MHz parts which only support a 100MHz FSB. It will reserve the EB designation, that is Coppermine supporting the 133MHz FSB, for its higher priced parts. Intel is positioning such chips as an upgrade opportunity for its dealers, in other words, allowing them to make more money. The Socket 370 used in the new Pentium III families is called the FC-PGA370. The FC stands for "flip chip", a packaging method which Intel has talked about before but which is by no means new. IBM Microelectronics has used the technique in the past. It allows for better contact with motherboards. This implies, however, that Intel's 810e chipset is likely to be released concurrently with these new parts. ®