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.

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

To: Bill Jackson who wrote (44233)	12/29/1998 10:20:00 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572888

All, An explanation why the K6 loves cache. Seems that the CISC-RISC decoder needs to be fed all the time. Best to click on the link. ------ cetinc.com

To: Bill Jackson who wrote (44233)	12/29/1998 4:58:00 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1572888

<The jumps from .25 to .18 and then to .11 that are in the game plans of various companies?. Who dictates these jumps? the stepper makers?, some physical limit that was reached at .25, then advances made it .18 and then .11?, or is it the timetable and sizetable of the makers of the capital equipment that all are forced to dance to as they have to make the equipment and get it running 100% and there is an industry consensus to those sizes to have a standard?. A committee?> There is no "consensus" on a given process technology; it just so happens that all of the leaders in the semiconductor industry are pretty close in the race toward smaller and smaller features. There's way too many things which dictates these jumps. Some of the capital equipment used for manufacturing come from common sources, which explains why it seems everyone more or less "agrees" on a feature size like 0.18 or 0.13 micron. The sizes themselves are no coincidence. The figures (0.25, 0.18, 0.13 microns) represent lengths. If you notice, the factor is between 1.3 and 1.4 between each process. A factor of 1.4 in length translates roughly to a factor of 2 in area. In other words, going from 0.25 to 0.18 micron will cut your surface area in half, as will going from 0.18 to 0.13. Tenchusatsu