Intel to shutdown desktop motherboard business

It looks like Intel has shifted its focus entirely to its CPU business, as the chip giant has announced it will be shutting down its desktop motherboard business.

The world’s biggest manufacturer of CPUs has announced that it will be ramping down its secondary business, desktop motherboards, to a complete halt in the next three years. So, essentially, in three years time, there will be fewer Intel-branded motherboards being floated into the market, until the maker eventually pulls the plugs on the machines spitting out these boards.

The last board to slide off the Intel assembly line will the one for their upcoming Haswell chipset, post which Intel will stop shipping boards. The decision comes in light of the fact that Intel’s motherboard business wasn’t one to rake in much profit, so the company has decided to focus on just their CPU business.

The good news here is that Intel will not be reducing its work-force, a normal outcome of any division shut-down. Instead, the plan is to have all the employees be absorbed into various other departments.

If you’re wondering what’s going to happen to motherboards after three years, fret not. Intel will continue developing reference designs for boards for their internal testing and research, and these designs and of course Intel chipsets will make their way to third party manufacturers for making new boards. Overall, this is good news for Intel chipset-based motherboard manufacturers, given that Intel was a strong, if not a fierce competitor in the motherboard segment.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Parts-Peripherals/Intel-to-shutdown-desktop-motherboard-business_13222.html

No More Intel Motherboards For Desktop

Bangalore: Intel, the chip maker, is planning to fade out from the traditional desktop motherboard business, as it centers its resources on mobile products.

“We disclosed internally today that Intel’s Desktop Motherboard Business will begin slowly ramping down over the course of the next three years,” said the company in a note. Eventually, Intel is trying to devote its resources towards Ultrabooks, tablets and phones rather than the PC system which was considered to be the Best Buys of the World at a certain point of time.

Further, Intel said, “The internal talent and experience of twenty years in the boards business is being redistributed to address emerging new form factors.”

Although Intel addresses “emerging”, the designs will mostly be mobiles rather than the desktops. With the launch of Intel’s upcoming “Haswell” chip generation in summer, the company will stop expanding its business in Desktop boards.

The products like the tiny Intel NUC board and the all-in-one is in budding stages in the mobile world. Even though Intel stops its production of Desktop boards, Asus and Gigabyte, considered being the trendsetters as motherboard makers are expected to actively participate in the market.

Intel will continue to create high-performance chips for the extreme performance systems. The company made this official disclosure following the rumors that Intel would stop creating board connectors like Land Grid Array (LGA) Socket for desktops after the arrival of future generation processors beyond Haswell, codenamed Broadwell. However, Intel refused to remark on these rumors.