henry and all,
Found the following article dated July 21th on IBM shipping some Aptiva models based on Cyrix PR 166:
Could it be that AMD would be eating Cyrix's lunch and not Intel's?
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Computer Retail Week: July 21, 1997, Issue: 176
Section: News
IBM goes non-Intel in U.S. Aptivas -- Begins shipment of Cyrix PR166 system to RadioShack stores
By Aaron Ricadela
New York-IBM, as expected, began shipping the first wave of PCs using a Cyrix processor to the retail channel this month, joining a handful of top-tier manufacturers willing to depart with Intel microprocessors to hit lower price points.
IBM's Aptiva 2136-E40 model, which is exclusive to RadioShack, began arriving in stores during the week of July 7, according to RadioShack store managers. The E40 system uses an IBM-branded Cyrix 6x86 PR166+ processor, according to IBM.
With the E40, which marks the first time Big Blue has shipped Cyrix-based PC in the United States, IBM joins Compaq and Acer America among high-profile manufacturers shipping non-Intel PCs this summer.
Compaq is using Cyrix's MediaGX processor in its low-end 2100 series to reach price points as low as $799. Acer America began advertising its 1290 model with an AMD K6 processor this month.
Yesterday, RadioShack began national advertising for the E40, according to a Tandy spokeswoman. The advertised price of $1,649 will include a 14-inch SVGA monitor, according to IBM.
RadioShack is positioning the E40 as the focal point of its back-to-school promotions, said Adam Youdelman, manager of RadioShack's Oyster Bay, N.Y., store.
Analysts saw the move as a broader indication that top-tier vendors are warming up to using non-Intel processors to reach a price point.
"It's significant any time a competitor like Cyrix can win a place at a major OEM," said Mark Kirstein, director of research at In-Stat's
Computer Market Services, Scottsdale, Ariz.
"From a strategic standpoint for IBM, since the chip is comparable in performance [to Intel's 166MHz Pentium processor] and costs less, and since IBM is one of the PC OEMs willing to use chips outside of Intel, it makes a lot of sense for them to take the cost savings," he said.
IBM Microelectronics is Cyrix's fabrication partner for semiconductors. The companies share a fabrication facility and brand Cyrix-designed chips under the IBM and Cyrix names, said Tony Massimini, chief of technology at Semico Research, Phoenix.
Massimini said IBM PC would realize a huge cost savings by purchasing chips from IBM Microelectronics because its Cyrix processors are priced 25 percent to 50 percent lower than their Intel equivalents in the volatile microprocessor market; not because both companies are IBM divisions.
Copyright r 1997 CMP Media Inc.
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Sounds like the same market to me!
Ibexx |
