Full StoryEfforts by Intel to push sales to motherboard makers and channel distributors amid sluggish demand in the second quarter have also contributed to runaway inventories, some makers claimed.
Second quarter shipments from Taiwan’s top four motherboard makers are expected to drop 6-17% sequentially, pushing up their inventory levels, the sources explained.
Inventories include the complete family of Pentium 4 chipsets, in addition to chipsets such as the 848P and the 845GV that were in stock from the first quarter, the sources added.
The price difference between Intel’s official listing and the market price has hit US$5-6 for some types of chipsets, up from a normal gap of US$1-2, further complicating the situation, said the sources.
This sort of thing doesn't happen much and with the 915/925 chipsets being shipped I'm not sure what the impact will be on the chipset situation. I'm sure Intel will want to start moving these out the door & having inventory in bulk sitting around is never a good thing.