14 DAY TRIAL // The other day, a rumor surfaced saying that Intel was going to back out of the branded server motherboard business. Now we can categorically say that nothing like that will happen.
That's because Intel contacted us with an official statement on the matter. It's not a very large one but, then again, it doesn't have to be.
“The rumors that Intel will exit the branded server motherboard business are categorically untrue,” the e-mailed statement reads.
“Intel is committed to our sever board and systems business and will continue to grow volume and revenue year-over-year, just introduced new server motherboards based on the recently launched Intel Xeon Processor E3-1200 v3 Product Family, and we are hitting key development milestones on the next-generation of dual-socket server boards for 2014 and actively planning 2015 products.
“Intel's server board and systems business is accelerating and we are looking forward to being the trusted partner to the server channel for many years to come.”
Normally, we wouldn't have put much stock in this rumor from the beginning, but this time was different because of something else that Intel presumably decided a while back.
We are, of course, referring to the report that said Intel had decided to quit the branded motherboard business. Subsequent reports of orders being cut by 80% gave credence to it.
So we risked considering the possibility that the new rumor about server motherboards was true. Fortunately, as we've seen, Intel was quick to dispel the notion. Possibly because not doing so would have caused some concern among its server partners.
Now we just have to see if we can get Intel to officially speak on the matter of the branded consumer motherboard market. After learning of 8-Series Lynx Point motherboards, we are no longer as sure that the rumor holds much water.