SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC)
INTC 34.50+2.6%3:59 PM EST

 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: phbolton who wrote (96740)1/19/2000 4:45:00 PM
From: Saturn V  Read Replies (1) of 186894
 
Phbolton < About 80% performance at the same MHz sounds about right given the other info available. Some of the comments posted below refer to emulation that constantly converts one code into another. The transmeta does this only once per application which costs about one second. >

I admit,I have a hard time believing the above statement. Emulation used to degrade performance by 10X. Power PC reduced it to 4x and claimed no degradation due to emulation!

Agreed Transmeta has made several innovations to reduce the penalty, but given the past history I am a skeptic. In addition their emulator cannot emulate SSE which will limit its usage.

The power dissipation numbers are impressive compared to a native x86 machine. However for notebooks this may not be an issue. Today the notebooks power consumption is dominated not by the processor ,but by the display, particularly for large screen active matrix displays. For mini notebooks or notebooks with passive LCD display,this will be important.

I do see an opening for the mythical entity of "portable web appliances". People are struggling to define next generation products like advanced wireless PDAs etc. Transmeta should have a good shot at this, along with NationalSemi GEODE, Intel TIMNA, and INTEL StrongArm.

Transmeta has significant innovations in emulation technology, but it remains to be seen if that can translate that into a killer product. Unless it can demonstrate something dramatic, the odds are against it, because of the enormous entry barriers in the x86 business. The sad history of the x86 wannabess will atest to that.
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext