Digital returned some of the documents but it insisted that it had the right to keep them and threatened to sue Intel for violating anti-trust laws.

Over the years, Mr. Sanders has competed with, insulted and occasionally sued Intel, which sells the chips at the heart of 8 of every 10 personal computers.

But he also acknowledged that he was in the hot seat, admitting that he put his reputation as chief executive on the line when he decided to sue Intel.

When it sued Intel last week, it was no narrow patent-infringement complaint.

The lawsuit is being brought by the same legal team that sued Intel on behalf of Intergraph, a maker of microprocessors in Huntsville, Ala.

(6/10/98) The Federal Trade Commission sued Intel for alleged antitrust violations.

Intergraph, which specializes in computer graphics systems, is suing Intel, accusing it of patent infringement, antitrust violations and coercive behavior.

THIS summer, class-action lawyers sued Intel, Gateway and Hewlett-Packard.

It also recasts its relationship with Intel, which became severely strained after Digital stunned the computer industry by suing Intel in May.

That year Digital sued Intel, accusing it of using some of Digital's patented technology to develop the Pentium microprocessor.