Barry, so true. Who can figure the market nowadays. Someone needs to coin a new phrase for these internet mania stocks. How about the "Web flying 20" ?
Looks like another small company has entered the x86 fray...
Why do I get the feeling there are a bunch of former Intel chip designer, wealthy and bored hanging around silicon valley. :-)
Paul, have you been tinkering in your garage again? :-)
Best, Michael
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Article...Rise readies itself as Intel's rival
July 7, 1998
InfoWorld : Yet another semiconductor company is planning to take on Intel with a low- cost x86 clone, readying a low-power chip aimed initially at $1,000 notebooks.
Rise Technology, based a stone's throw from Intel's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., will describe its chip in detail for the first time at the Microprocessor Forum, in nearby San Jose, Calif., in October.
"The mP6 is an x86-compatible processor targeted at the sub-$1,000 PC market," said Keith Diefendorff, editor in chief of the Microprocessor Report, in Sunnyvale, Calif. "It will compete head-to-head with IDT's WinChip and Cyrix's highly integrated processors."
Rise's mP6 processor will target low-power, low-cost Windows systems, especially notebooks, company officials said. Notebooks have the desktop- equivalent performance, low power, and low cost to serve the price-sensitive segment of the market.
"This segment is quite small, as only 20 percent of all PCs are notebooks, and most of those go to corporate customers, who strongly prefer Intel processors," Diefendorff said.
The company will also package the mP6 to fit Socket 7 desktop systems, company officials said.
The CPU is based on the Rise x86 core, a proprietary design that achieves Pentium II-class performance but keeps power consumption low, officials said. A contract foundry partner will manufacture the chip, and Rise will market and distribute it.
"Rise believes its processor does not infringe any Intel patents, but it is using an Intel-licensed fab to be safe," Diefendorff said. "The start-up did not disclose its foundry partner, but possible candidates include IBM, Texas Instruments, and SGS-Thomson [now STMicroelectronics]," Diefendorff suggested.
These companies, as well as National Semiconductor, Cyrix's parent, have broad cross-licensing agreements with Intel that allow them to manufacture x86 processors for themselves and companies, such as Rise, that do not have their own fabrication facilities.
Core logic vendors Acer, Via Systems, and Utron have announced they are working with Rise to ensure compatibility with their Socket 7 chip sets, according to Diefendorff.
Rise Technology Co., in Santa Clara, Calif., can be reached at (408) 330-8800 or rise.com. Intel Corp., in Santa Clara, can be reached at (800) 628-8686 or intel.com.
Employee power
Rise's technical team includes experts previously key in the development of more than 10 high-performance CPUs. Employees from these companies have helped develop the mP6 chip. |
