Paula - YOur comment about all the good news concerning cyrix (posted on this board) sounds like you may be ignoring some fundamental problems.
Next Wednesday, the pentium mmx chip will be announced officially and systems from most oems will start to ship. This will start the conversion to this "generation" of processor. I won't debate the merits of intel's mmx technology - except that it is available.
Currently, AMD is sampling their k6 also with mmx technology and a pentium pin out.
So as of next week, Cyrix will be the ONLY x86 manufactuirer WITHOUT mmx technology. Their m2 chip has an unknown status - which implies it ain't available now nor in the near term future.
Now, what releveance does this have for cyrix's stock price? Their only x86 device, the 6x86, will not have the mmx technology to compete with the new intel and amd chips. I'll let the other folks on this board blast the mmx implementations and explain why the 6x86 is still better. however - think waht happened to manual shift cars when automatic transmission cars became available. They were easier to use, but not necessary. Auto transmissions quickly became the status symbol. and intel will mereley mention in their adds that buying an x86 chip without mmx is buying obsolete technology with no link to the future.
so, Cyrix chips wil have only one thing going for them - availability -since intel is maxxed out for production. once this advantage evaporates, cyrix will have to cut costs and sell at deep discounts, further embedding them into the low cost low end of the market.
their 5gx86 chip may help out but it will also have to sell at low price - meaning low profits. and again - no mmx in the 5xg86 - anoither factor that may prevent any market succeess.
all this sums up to leave cyrix behind in the new technolgy offerings. their m2 cannot pick up this slack in zero time. if and when it is available - and no one on this forum knows when that will be - despite their assumptions - it will take months and monthws of testing sampling and marketing to get customers to accept it.
you can reread this forum to get a flavor for how good cyrix's markrting is. of course, they won't have a president to interfere with marketing - another factor that will make their potential customers wonder what the future of cyrix is going to bring.
so next week cyrix slips on the technology treadmill officially. this alone can explain their recent stock price decline.
monica |
