To ALL: Article...MMX goes to 233MHZ!
pcweek.com
January 29, 1997 1:30 PM ET
Intel to develop 233MHz Pentium with MMX
By Lisa DiCarlo
ÿIntel Corp. will push the P5 architecture further than it previously anticipated with the introduction of a 233MHz Pentium with MMX for desktop and notebook computers, according to several sources familiar with the situation.
The desktop version may be released as early as June and the notebook version by early 1998, the sources said.
The company originally intended 200MHz, in both non-MMX (multimedia extension) and MMX iterations, to be the top of the line for P5. The plan was to move users from Pentium to Pentium Pro with MMX (code-named Klamath) as quickly as possible.
But the threat of similar-performance, lower-priced processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Cyrix Corp. may leave Intel vulnerable, sources said.
"They need something better or faster than AMD's K6 that goes in the same socket," said one source.
Indeed, gaps in Intel's mobile road map--as well as interest in alternative CPUs--are pressing the company to push the envelope for notebook processors, too.
By year's end, the Santa Clara, Calif., company will release a 200MHz Pentium with MMX for notebooks, code-named Tillamook, and take it one step further with the 233MHz version, sources said.
But by then, Intel is also due to release Deschutes, the "shrink" of Klamath built using a .25-micron process, sources said. The smaller version helps the chip run cooler and, therefore, faster.
Even still, observers voiced concern over the thermal design of a portable with a 233MHz Pentium and Deschutes.
"How one gets there from here is quite a challenge, and Deschutes is posing enough of a challenge, never mind the [233MHz MMX] part," said an OEM source who requested anonymity.
Back on the desktop, AMD and Cyrix are also working on higher clock speeds of their respective K6 and M2 processors. Cyrix, for example, plans to hit 225MHz or 233MHz by year's end.
Cyrix officials warn that Intel may confuse the market with too many products that are not easily distinguishable in performance.
"They may run into positioning issues if the performance between a 233MHz Pentium and 233MHz Klamath is not drastically different," said Steve Tobak, vice president of corporate and channel marketing at Cyrix, in Richardson, Texas.
PC makers may actually help Intel sidestep that problem before it arises. Most PC makers plan to use Klamath in their corporate lines, while Pentium with MMX is generally showing up in PCs sold through retail.
However, there are exceptions, such as IBM Personal Computer Co. and Digital Equipment Corp., which feature Pentium with MMX processors in corporate-oriented PCs.
Intel officials declined to comment on unannounced products.
______________________________________________________
Boy, that Lisa Dicarla is a great snooper.
Regards, Michael |
