Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

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 : IDTI - an IC Play on Growth Markets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gordon Quickstad who wrote (8011)	4/24/1998 12:24:00 PM
From: Rob S.	Respond to of 11555

Merced will be able to run X86 programs but has a new instruction set. This is eventually to be scaled down to the desktop. I don't think that Intel had in mind that the desktop market would move down so much in price so that has probably shot their chances of migrating the Merced to the mid and low range. They will still try to migrate the market toward the Merced at the high-end of performance. Legacy software is what is driving X86 not the hardware. RISK has long been the most efficient architecture, particularly for the low to mid range uP performance. I have read that Merced uses a new instruction set that is more like a very long word instruction set. Intel's intent is to try to move the market away from X86 while still keeping control over it. So if they can somehow use RISK to do that, good luck. MIPS, ARM, PowerPC, Cyrix's MediaGx, and AMD's new low-end X86 have the support of Windows CE. The latter two can migrate the computing platform up to MS WIN Hydra for networked PCs or full blown (fat) Win 98. The WinChip may do very well but I doubt that IDTI, even with the IBM agreement, can manufacture enough parts to clobber Intel. The combined production of AMD, NSM and IDTI/IBM will do damage to Intel. That's particularly true this year and most of '99 when Intel will have the costs of the Merced but will be just building momentum for the new architecture. I expect Intel to continue to do well overall and remain the company to beat for the next several years. IDTI certainly has a lot more to gain while Intel has a lot to lose in the ensuing battle.