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.
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