Computex Preview

Taiwan's premier computer show offers a glimpse at what's ahead.

Mark LaPedus

The Computex show in Taiwan offers a sneak preview of what's coming down the road in the PC industry. The show, scheduled to take place June 6Ð10 in Taipei, has become the premier event for OEMs, distributors, and buyers of PCs and peripherals, including desktops, notebooks, motherboards, monitors, scanners, semiconductors, and other components.

Acer, Asustek, Elitegroup, First International Computer (FIC), and other hardware manufacturers will show their initial Pentium Pro-based computers. Like the Pentium Pro-based systems from U.S. vendors , the Taiwan-made computers will be high-performance but lower-cost platforms for Windows NT users.

FIC will ship a dual-processor Pentium Pro system. The Leo Titan 353 is designed to run a full range of Pentium Pro processors, making it ideal for CAD/CAM, 3-D graphics, Internet access, and other high-end applications, says Ernest Chen, vice president of FIC's PC Division.

FIC's system will initially run a pair of 166-MHz Pentium Pro chips. It is housed in a midsize tower and comes with 32 MB of extended data out (EDO) DRAM, up to 512 KB of Level 2 cache, 2 GB of hard disk storage, a 64-bit PCI graphics chip, 16-bit sound, and a six-speed CD-ROM drive.

FIC as well as Acer, Asustek, Elitegroup, Mitac, and others will also jump on the ATX form-factor motherboard. Backed by Intel, the ATX motherboard is a Baby AT baseboard with a new mounting configuration for the power supply. The processor is located away from the expansion slots, allowing them to hold full-length add-on cards. In theory, material costs of cables and add-on cards are reduced by integrating more I/O down on the board.

FIC will ship a trio of ATX boards. B ased on Via's Apollo 580VP PCI chip set, FIC's new PAK-2010 and PAK-2110 ATX boards support a full range of Pentium-level processors from Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix, and Intel. FIC's PTK-2110 is based on Intel's 82430VX chip set.

FIC will also show a family of nonATX-based motherboards, including designs for the Pentium Pro processor. The PO-6000 and PO-6200 boards will provide the "power and scalability for high-performance workstation and server applications," according to FIC's Chen.

Asustek's new ATX-based board, the P/I-XP55T2P4, supports Intel's 75-, 90-, 100-, 120-, 133-, 150-, and 166-MHz Pentium chips, according to company officials. Based on Intel's 430HX PCIset line of chip sets, the board supports 8 to 256 MB of EDO DRAM and up to 512 KB of cache.

Mitac's PB5400T also fits the ATX form factor, according to a spokesman. Designed to run Intel's Pentium processors, Mitac's board supports EDO DRAM and the universal serial bus (USB) standard.

Acer, Elitegroup, and other Tai wan companies will expand their thrusts in the CD-ROM drive market. Elitegroup, for example, will introduce its Vertos line of six- and eight-speed drives, according to Eric Hwang, director of marketing for the company's multimedia business unit.