• PC World
• » Tech Industry

Via Technologies is preparing another challenge for Intel.

Via will use next month's CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany, as the launching pad for an enhanced version of its Cyrix III processor aimed at low-cost PCs, the company announced Wednesday.

Based on a new processor core code named Samuel II, internally known as C5B, the new processor series will integrate 64 KB of performance-enhancing Level 2 cache memory.

Designed to fit into the same Socket 370 architecture Intel uses for its entry-level Celeron processors, Samuel II will initially ship at a clock speed of 750 MHz, with 800-MHz and 850-MHz versions to follow, says Richard Brown, director of marketing at the Taipei-based PC chip set and processor vendor.

Other features of the Samuel II include a 100-MHz or 133-MHz front-side bus, 128KB of Level 1 cache, and support for Intel's MMX and Advanced Micro Devices' 3DNow multimedia instruction sets.

Built by Via's manufacturing partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing using a 0.15-micron process, Samuel II will also feature a die size of 52 square millimeters, smaller than current Cyrix III processors, which are built using a 0.18-micron process.

In addition to lowering the manufacturing cost, the smaller die size will allow the processor to run at 1.5 volts and result in lower heat dissipation, Brown said in a presentation at InQuest Market Research's Platform Conference.

Pricing information was not available, but Brown said the processor will be aimed squarely at low-cost or "value PCs."

More to Come

By midyear, Via plans to follow up with a further-souped-up version of the processor, code named Ezra, or C5C, Brown said. Ezra will be built on a 0.13-micron process and is expected to run at clock speeds ranging from 750 MHz to 950 MHz, and may even hit the coveted 1-GHz mark by year's end, officials say.

Built on a 0.15-micron process with 0.13-micron transistors, Ezra will run at 1.2 volts or 1.35 volts, further lowering power consumption and heat dissipation, says C.J. Holthaus, an engineer in the Austin, Texas-based Centaur Technology processor design team that Via acquired from IDT in 1999.

The fastest Cyrix III processor currently on the market runs at 700 MHz.

The Centaur Team is also working on a next-generation processor core, code named C5X, that will integrate 256KB of Level 2 cache and Intel's SSE multimedia instruction set to deliver improved performance as measured by media benchmarks, Holthaus says.

Designed to be manufactured using 0.15-micron copper technology, the C5X core should reach clock speeds as high as 1.2 GHz, according to Via's official product road map. Officials would not commit to a launch date for the new core.

In parallel with the Cyrix III series, Via is also readying an integrated processor code named Matthew. Brown says Matthew will be ready for launch shortly, but declines to set a firm date. Matthew will integrate a graphics engine in the same package as the processor, and will be aimed squarely at low-cost Internet appliances, he adds.

• See more like this:
• chips,
• processor,
• Via,
• Cyrix,
• Intel,
• Celeron