As is known, AMD plans to launch its mobile Athlon CPUs based on Palomino core on March 19 already. In fact, AMD doesn’t have any manufacturing problems. According to the info over at CNET, the manufacturing of these processors is already in progress and any notebook OEM can order them now. Moreover, AMD is going to start their mass production this quarter already.
Nevertheless, there is one grave problem, which may appear in the way and prevent the mass production of these CPUs from taking on: the absence of appropriate chipsets in the market to support newcomers. Of course, the notebooks may be built on the corresponding desktop chipsets (the same KT133 or KT133E), however, the largest notebook makers aren’t willing to use them at all (even because of no PowerNow! support). As we have learned recently, the first VIA chipset for mobile Athlon CPUs is due in Q2 2001. Of course, it will feature an integrated S3 Savage4 graphics core (no way without it, really!). We dare suppose that this chipset will be none other but a modified KL133 version. It should be announced in April and its mass production will start in late Q2.
In the end of Q2 we will also see mass shipments from ALi of their CyberMagik 1646 (with trident Cyberblade XP graphics core).
Bering in mind all these facts, we suppose that mass supplies of the mobile Athlon based on the new Palomino core will start not at the time of its official announcement (which has every chance to take place on March 19) but a bit later.