Seeing a recent cool-down in DDR400 fervor, Taiwanese chipset heavyweights Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) and VIA Technologies have both quietly pulled out from plans to promote DDR400-supporting chipsets.
SiS has decided to cancel its DDR400-supporting 648DX and 746DX, leaving only its DDR333-supporting 648 and 746 chipsets, while VIA has taken out the P4X333 from its product list and decided to replace it with the P4X400 targeting the high-end.
According to chipset makers, DDR400 sales have mainly been handicapped by a lack of verification from JEDEC and lack of support from module makers. While some chipsets may indeed be able to support DDR400, as long as the standard has yet to be verified by JEDEC, official papers will only list DDR333 as the highest standard supported.
Moreover, the move to cancel DDR400-supporting chipsets will also help simplify the pricing of overly complicated product lines in the chipset market, with price differences between Taiwan-manufactured chipsets of only US$2-3.
The two chipset giants indicate that as their DDR333-supporting chipsets can support DDR400 by overclocking, motherboard makers can still launch DDR400-supporting boards, but any problems with compatibility or quality would be the responsibility of the motherboard makers themselves.
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