Topic CX_M2 from CPU FAQ base
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— SU.HARDW.PC.CPU (2:5020/299) —————————————————————————————— SU.HARDW.PC.CPU — From : Alex Tsupikov 2:5020/644.19 Sat 25 May 96 11:46 Subj : Cyrix M2 ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Привет, All ! === Cut === Cyrix Reveals M2 Strategy Ahead of Schedule Upcoming chip is designed to simplify the upgrade decision. Rather than asking you to choose between the low road and the high road, Cyrix is offering a continuous path to the future of 32-bit processing. By announcing plans for its M2 chip--a sixth- generation technology that will plug into a standard Pentium socket while offering both MMX compatibility and 32-bit optimization--the company is allowing users to purchase today's most adept mainstream hardware and gently upgrade to tomorrow's. After Wall Street rumors concerning the M2 sparked a flurry of activity around its stock, Cyrix decided to announce company strategies yesterday, a fortnight ahead of schedule. Although samples of the processor will not be ready until the fourth quarter and may not reach production quantities until the beginning of 1997, the recent success of the 6x86 chip has made Cyrix's plans a significant source of industry curiosity. New 6x86 P166+ systems--which have a clock speed of only 133MHz-- are outperforming most Pentium/166 machines and are even competing with imminent Pentium/200 PCs. Although Cyrix also said that it will release a P200+ version of the 6x86 in June (full production in August), the M2 is true revelation. Like the 6x86, this chip will offer most of the Pentium Pro's most attractive features--including register renaming, out-of-order completion, and speculative execution- -but will also include a 64K primary cache (the Pentium Pro's is 16K). Unlike the 6x86, the M2 will boast optimization for 32-bit code and MMX, a set of 57 new instructions that will significantly boost graphics and audio performance. (For more on MMX, see "Intel Pumps Up Multimedia Performance" Trends Online 4/8/96) Of course, the Pentium Pro already offers 32-bit optimization and will offer MMX in its Klamath incarnation (See "Pentium-Pinching Pentium Pros," in Trends, June 11, 1996) by the time the M2 is in production. What sets the two chips apart is the M2's compatibility with the standard 64-bit socket that the Pentium and the 6x86 plug into. With Windows 95 here today and Windows NT 4.0 on the horizon, many corporations are struggling with their hardware decisions. The Pentium and 6x86 are more suitable for Windows 95's 16-bit code, while the Pentium Pro is undoubtedly the processor of choice when running Windows NT. Either you purchase today's most appropriate hardware and forsake it entirely when tomorrow's comes along, or you endure archaic hardware and wait patiently for six months. With MMX in the mix, the situation is even more difficult. You can vastly improve the performance of your gaming and videoconferencing applications as soon as the Intel P55C ships with MMX this summer, but then you'll have to upgrade your entire system once you want 32-bit optimization. Cyrix believes it has the answer. Users who require the highest industry performance under Windows 95 can purchase a 6x86 P166+ system today or a 6x86 P200+ machine later this year (or a Pentium PC for that matter), then plug an M2 into their machine's universal 64-bit socket after the first of the year. Of course, if much of the corporate world decides to wait for the Klamath and moves to it en masse, the 64-bit standard socket may not be very standard--or very available. Regardless, Cyrix is making its presence felt like no other Intel competitor ever has.--Cade Metz === Cut === With best regards, Alex. --- * Origin: -= DAMI BBS,249-8572,01:00-08:00 Mo-Su,FREQ Only =- (2:5020/644.19)
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