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WinChip C6+



This Article was last modified in January, 1998.

NEW INFO:

It has been confirmed that the new WinChip will adopt AMD's K6 3D extensions. The Centaur official didn't seem overjoyed because he said that he thought their 3D instruction set was better, however he was willing to adopt AMD's for the sake of a single standard.


IDT's new WinChip C6+ is it's next-generation C6 processor. The C6+ overcomes many of the problems that plagued the original C6 processor, including a big boost in 3D gaming performance, and overall performance improvements.

The IDT WinChip C6+ processor targets superior MMX and 3D graphics performance for power users and gamers. The C6 + accomplishes this by adding new x86 instructions to improve Microsoft's Direct X performance.

Like the original C6 processor, the C6+ will be a cheaply priced CPU, and will reside in the sub-$1,500 multimedia desktop and sub-$2,000 mobile personal computer market segments. Details of the IDT WinChip C6+ processor were disclosed at the Microprocessor Forum conference. Product shipments are expected to begin in the first half of 1998.

"The new IDT WinChip C6+ processor further demonstrates the benefits of our simple design approach which allows us to quickly introduce design enhancements while maintaining the best performance per watt and per dollar," said Glenn Henry, president of Centaur Technology. "We improved integer performance by adding branch prediction, doubled the floating point and MMX performance, and added enhancements to improve 3D graphics, all within six months of our initial announcement with effectively the same die size as the original IDT WinChip C6 processor."

The new IDT Winchip C6+ processor adds dual MMX units and includes 53 new x86 instructions to improve 3D graphics performance. These new instructions are geared to speed coordinate transforms and lighting in applications using future versions of Microsoft Direct X. The dual MMX units and new x86 instructions are expected to allow the IDT WinChip C6+ processor to deliver better MMX and 3D graphics performance than the Pentium with MMX technology.

With a micro-architecture optimized for Microsoft Windows applications, IDT's WinChip C6+ microprocessor builds upon the initial IDT WinChip C6 focus:

- Deliver superior price/performance to Pentium- class microprocessors running application level benchmarks such as Winstone 97 business under Windows 95

- Deliver low power dissipation to mobile personal computers which improves notebook battery life and simplifies overall system design

The new device is expected to include 5.8 million transistors and will be manufactured using IDT's 5-layer-metal, 0.35 and 0.25 micron CMOS technology. At only 91 mm2 in size when manufactured in 0.35 micron technology, the IDT WinChip C6+ processor is projected to be 30 to 60 percent smaller than comparable Pentium-class processors. This breakthrough will provide better than Pentium-class performance at lower power and price levels.

Initial speed targets are 266 MHz, with 300 MHz to follow in the second half 1998. Pricing will be announced in 1998.

Consistent with IDT's mission to support the cost-effective and established Socket 7 motherboard, chipset and BIOS infrastructure, the IDT WinChip C6+ processor will be offered in a 296 Ceramic Pin Grid Array (CPGA) Socket 7 compatible package.

All of the information found above, and more, can be found at IDT's WinChip main site: http://www.winchip.com

This CPU is still under development, and I will keep you posted as new details arrive.


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