 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                                                                

ਢ, All !

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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.

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 * Origin:  -= DAMI BBS,249-8572,01:00-08:00 Mo-Su,FREQ Only =- (2:5020/644.19)


