Its simple. When manufactures buy realtek sound chips, they get a bundle deal on realtek NICs. You can still find some mainboards with Intel and Broadcom NICs if you look hard enough.
For the record, almost all Intel boards have Intels own NICs.
Besides Intel would cannibalise its own nic business where it gets to sell its superior technology at a premium.
Personally I would cry crocodile tears if we "lost" Broadcom, Marvell and Realtek in the PC network segment.
Why doesn't Intel and AMD Integrate Gigabit Ethernet in either their CPU/Package/Northbridge/Southbridge?
There must be a good reason that everyone has motherboards with Realtek Gigabit Ethernet still to this day.
Leaving us with drop-the-connection-randomly Atheros?!It would be nice to get rid of all those 3rd party NICs. But Its all about saving half a dollar. And the OEMs simply demand it this way for now.
Personally I would cry crocodile tears if we "lost" Broadcom, Marvell and Realtek in the PC network segment.
I think CPU failure rate will increase with too much garbage running in the core. Also you will run into compatiblity issues with existing motherboards.
There is an old saying "Keep it Simple".
cheez
I think CPU failure rate will increase with too much garbage running in the core. Also you will run into compatiblity issues with existing motherboards.
There is an old saying "Keep it Simple".
cheez
Failure rate not caused by user right now on CPUs is something like 0.00001%![]()
I think he was talking about yields. The larger you make the chip, the greater the chance that part of the chip is on a defective part of the wafer and as a result the smaller percentage of the wafer ends up in fully functional chips. I could be wrong though, and knowing Intel they'd just sell the chips with defective ethernet controllers as XXXXNE (no ethernet) edition and knock a couple $ off the retail price or sell them to OEMs to use in ultrabooks intended to have wireless only.
I once red, that the physical interface (PHY) cannot be shrunk below 65nm. So you could only integrate the network logic in a contemporary sub 45nm design. The PHY has to be external and it is connected by a modified PCIe x1 interface.
However, if you have to use a PCIe x1 interface anyways, then you can also connect to a damn cheap Realtek networkchip, which is produced in the good old 65nm at nearly no costs ...
If I remember correctly then some AMD SBs had an integrated Broadcom network logic, but next to nobody used it, because Broadcoms PHY-chip is more expensive than a Realtek chip. Same story for some intel chipsets.
It is also an logistic problem. If you are a mainboard manufacturer then it is cheapest to just store 1 kind of network chips that fits everywhere. Thus you can buy at high volumes and low costs. Buying Broadcom and/or Intel PHYs for a few kinds of special mainboards doesnt pay off.
Seems Intel sells 40nm ethernet controllers. So I dont think that theory holds.
I once red, that the physical interface (PHY) cannot be shrunk below 65nm.