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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Engel who wrote (33656)	6/29/1998 2:00:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1571834

Two New Chips Join the 300MHz Club -- New low-cost chips from AMD and Cyrix are good news for economy-minded buyers-and bad news for Intel. By Jonathan Blackwood and Owen Linderholm The 300MHz CPU fraternity has a couple of new members, as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Cyrix Corp. introduce low-priced Socket 7 processors. The two companies, still relentlessly nipping at Intel's heels, hope their latest offerings will swipe a portion of the value-priced-systems market from the chip behemoth's clutches-which should translate to cheaper systems for you. We tested two PCs that use the new chips: The CyberMax ValueMax B8 is based on Cyrix's chip, and the Polywell Poly K6300MX contains the AMD processor. Both of these low-priced systems offer good performance-roughly equivalent to 80 percent of an average 300MHz Pentium II system's performance for around 70 percent of the price. The bottom line: Although neither of the systems could keep up with 300MHz Pentium II-based systems, they easily beat PCs based on Intel's new Celeron chip, with an equivalent low price. A Look Inside the Chips AMD and Cyrix have steadily built credibility along with market share-although their strategies for doing so differ a bit. Tell AMD how well its K6 processor compares in terms of performance or price with Intel's MMX-enabled Pentium or its new Celeron processor, and you're likely to be met with protest. AMD prefers to compare the K6 with Intel's Pentium II line. In reality, the K6's performance exceeds that of the MMX Pentium and the Celeron, but it can't keep pace with the Pentium II. Cyrix made a run at Intel's high-end processor dominance in 1996 but has since regrouped and rethought its position. By concentrating on Socket 7 processors for lower-end systems, Cyrix met with more success. New alliances have also aided both companies. AMD, which has had problems meeting demands for its K6 processor as it moved to a 0.25-micron process, struck a deal to have IBM produce K6 chips. And Cyrix gained chip-fabrication capability for the first time when it was acquired by National Semiconductor Corp. Now, AMD and Cyrix are moving forward with their respective chip technologies. The 300MHz K6 powering the Polywell system examined here represents a simple clock stepping. In other words, it's the same K6 as before, with a slightly higher clock multiplier. But by the time you read this, AMD's new K6 3D chip should be available. It introduces a group of 21 instructions, similar to the MMX instruction set. The K6 3D's instruction set was

To: Paul Engel who wrote (33656)	6/29/1998 2:16:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1571834

300 MHz club, part II eveloped jointly by AMD, Cyrix and Integrated Device Technology (IDT manufactures Socket 7 WinChip processors). It will be supported by Microsoft's DirectX 6.0, which will be in NT 5.0 and a Windows 98 service release. We'll review a K6 3D demonstration system in the near future. Cyrix, meanwhile, seems to have acknowledged that its motherboard requirements hampered acceptance of its Socket 7 chips. Although the AMD K6, IDT WinChip and Intel MMX Pentium processors all operate in 66MHz motherboards, Cyrix had required 75MHz and even 83MHz motherboards-seriously reducing the pool of available motherboards and necessitating the use of non-Intel chipsets. To solve the problem, Cyrix relaunched the 6x86MX as the M II-300, the processor used in the CyberMax system reviewed here. The M II-300 operates in a standard 66MHz motherboard with any Intel or compatible chipset and uses a 3.5 clock multiplier. That results in an actual clock speed of 233MHz, up from 208MHz for the previous version (83MHz with a 2.5 multiplier). Cyrix uses a Power Rating (PR) for its chips, because its larger level 1 caches and efficient design achieve application performances that are better than the clock speed alone would indicate. A PR300 Cyrix chip, therefore, should offer roughly the application performance of a 300MHz Intel processor, much faster than its CPU performance in MIPS shows. The two systems tested here use the new SiS 5591 chipset to enable AGP video, so another of the differentiating factors Intel claimed for its Slot One motherboards compared to Socket 7 designs falls by the wayside. Polywell Poly K6300MX The Polywell Poly K6300MX is a basic PC with some higher-end configuration features. Built around the new AMD 300MHz K6 CPU, it comes with 64MB of RAM (expandable to 384MB) and a whopping 8.4GB hard drive. Throw in a high-end Diamond Viper V330 AGP/ATX graphics card with 4MB of SGRAM and you can tell there are no cut corners here, despite the mid-tower case's vanilla exterior. Many of this PC's other details also have an ordinary look, but are better than the norm. The Keytronics keyboard, with its soft feel and lots of travel to the keys, is comfortable for touch typing. The KYE Genius NetMouse is also comfortable and easy to use; its middle button is actually a rocker switch that operates like the wheel on a Microsoft IntelliMouse. The CD-ROM is a 32X Toshiba, and the sound system comprises a good Yamaha 719 wavetable sound card with 3D sound and Altec Lansing ACS45 speakers with subwoofer. The system

To: Paul Engel who wrote (33656)	6/29/1998 2:18:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571834

SIDEBAR: How the New 300s Compare Here's how the Cyrix-based CyberMax ValueMax B8 and the K6-powered Polywell Poly K6300MX stack up. We tested the Cyrix M II-300-based CyberMax ValueMax B8 system and the AMD K6-300-based Polywell Poly K6300MX using our WinTune 98 benchmarks and application macro tests. We compared the performance of these two systems with the average performance of all the 300MHz Pentium II, 266MHz PII and 266MHz Celeron systems we've tested to date. The results are shown as a percentage of the performance of our reference system, a Quantex QP6/333 SM-4x. (For more on our testing procedures, see WinScore 2.0 Results, this issue.) The ValueMax B8 and Poly K6300MX were outclassed by the average 300MHz Pentium II system. Their WinScore 2.0 ratings are slightly lower than the average 266MHz Pentium II system. However, compared with the Celeron-based systems we've tested, the ValueMax B8 and Poly K6300MX were much better performers. --Quick View-- CyberMax ValueMax B8 Bottom Line: Well-priced, expandable system with quality components Price: $1,569 Platforms: 95 Pros: Expandability; application performance Cons: Noisy fan Strongest Rival: NEC Direction 300L CyberMax Computer, 800-419-4066, 610-770-1808. Winfo #772 -- Polywell Poly K6300MX Bottom Line: Serviceable, low-cost small-business system with good graphics performance Price: $1,698 Platforms: 95, NT Pros: Low cost; large hard disk; good graphics performance Cons: Slow hard disk Strongest Rival: NEC Direction 300L Polywell Computers, 800-999-1278, 650-583-7222. Winfo #773

To: Paul Engel who wrote (33656)	6/29/1998 2:25:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 1571834

What are all these slots and sockets I've been hearing about? What's Slot One? Slot Two? Socket 7? Super7? Slot A? A: Slot One is the connector used by Intel's Pentium II processor. Slot Two is the soon-to-appear cartridge connector for Pentium II servers. Socket 7 is the connector used for the past two years for Pentium, Pentium MMX, AMD-K6, Cyrix 6x86 and 6x86MX, and IDT WinChip processors. Super7 is a new motherboard/chipset design promoted by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that brings 100MHz bus speed, AGP and 100MHz SDRAM support to Socket 7-compatible processors. Slot A is a new connector AMD is considering, identical in size and form factor to Intel's proprietary Slot One connector. Its electrical properties are borrowed from Digital Equipment Corp.'s Alpha RISC processor used in servers and workstations. Q: What new processors should we expect over the next few years? A: Expect new chips from AMD (K6 3D+) that will include the new 3D instruction set and onboard level 2 cache. Cyrix will weigh in with its new Cayenne chip, which is expected to be a Slot One rather than Socket 7 design (Cyrix's new parent company, National Semiconductor, has a cross-licensing agreement with Intel for Slot One technology). IDT will introduce new chips with enhanced floating-point units and improved MMX performance, and possibly integrated level 2 cache as well.

To: Paul Engel who wrote (33656)	6/29/1998 2:28:00 PM
From: Maverick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1571834

Celeron PCs Not Ready For Prime Time By Jonathan Blackwood Even the best manufacturer can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Cases in point: Hewlett-Packard's Brio 8334 and Global Computer Supplies' Systemax Mediamax 266C. The sow's ear, in this case, is Intel's new 266MHz Celeron, a cacheless, inexpensive Pentium II. Intel has historically believed the way to play to the low-end market is to take an excellent product and diminish it in some way (remember the 486SX?). The removal of the expensive cache causes the diminution in Celeron's case, and application performance suffers as a result. What was Intel thinking? For some time, the company has trumpeted the superiority of the new Slot One mother-boards (used by its Pentium II processors) over the older Socket 7 designs (used by its MMX-enabled Pentium and by AMD, Cyrix and IDT processors), in part because the design allows the level 2 cache to run at half the speed of the processor itself. Socket 7 designs relegate the level 2 cache to run considerably slower-at the speed of the motherboard instead. By removing the level 2 cache from Celeron systems, Intel has thrown away the Pentium II's advantage. Systems powered by competing chips from AMD and Cyrix can be priced as low as or lower than Celeron, include 512KB of level 2 cache, and run business apps much faster. For that matter, systems powered by a 233MHz MMX Pentium with level 2 cache (like our former reference system Dell Dimension XPS M233s) run business apps such as Word, Excel, Photoshop and AutoCAD faster than Celeron PCs. HP Brio 8334 Hewlett-Packard targets its Brio line of systems at small-business users. Model 8334 comes in a midtower case with components that include a 266MHz Celeron processor, 32MB of RAM, a 3.8GB hard disk and an integrated S3 Trio 64V2 video controller with 2MB of RAM on the motherboard. A VTI 16-bit sound card is installed, but there are no speakers. Our test system didn't come with a monitor, but HP has a range to choose from. The 8334's keyboard has a number of extra programmable keys to let you perform functions like accessing the Internet. Otherwise, it's a normal Windows 95 keyboard with a decent tactile response.

To: Paul Engel who wrote (33656)	6/29/1998 2:31:00 PM
From: Maverick	Respond to of 1571834

Celeron is not ready, part II Performance was disappointing. The Brio 8334 managed a WinScore 2.0 mark of just 51, indicating average system throughput half that of our Quantex 333MHz Pentium II reference system. As with other Celeron systems we've tested, processor performance in MIPS was good, while application performance was abysmal. Word and Excel scores, for example, were also only half that of our reference system and contributed heavily to the mediocre WinScore 2.0 mark. (See page 61 for scores.) Systemax Mediamax 266C Systemax computers are sold exclusively through Global Computer Supplies. Global purchased MidWest Micro to provide a source for the new line; MidWest Micro continues to build and distribute computers through the direct channel under its old name. The Systemax Mediamax 266C is a midtower desktop aimed at the corporate market. It comes with a 15-inch monitor, a network interface card, a 3GB hard disk and 32MB of RAM. Unusual but highly functional latches on either side of the case provide access to its interior. Video comes courtesy of an ATI 3D RAGE PRO AGP video adapter with 4MB of RAM. The monitor was acceptable, with a decent image and easy-to-use controls. Sound gets served up by a Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 card, paired with Labtec LCS-1020 speakers. Performance was very similar to that of the HP Brio 8334, though the Mediamax 266C managed to eke out one more point on our WinScore 2.0 scale, earning a 52. Its performance on our video and Excel tests was marginally better than the Brio, while it was slightly worse running our Photoshop and Word tests. Is a better Celeron coming soon? Neither of these computers really hits the mark. They're only slightly faster-though not enough to notice-than the 200MHz MMX Pentium-powered Seanix Baby Grand computers, which achieved WinScores of 48 and 45, respectively, for their consumer and corporate configurations. Both Seanix systems also made our WinList. When equipped with monitors, the Brio 8334 and Mediamax 266C are at least $300 more than the Seanix systems. Though the Brio and Mediamax are well-made systems, we've come to expect more performance for these prices. Intel is expected to roll out a version of the Celeron chip with 128KB of level 2 cache this summer. Historically, the sweet spot has seemed to be 512KB, but the biggest boost from the