New CPUs for 1997

June 27th, 2007

The next year will be a busy one for CPU makers. Intel will kick things off early when it rolls out its new MMX Pentium processors next month. The enhanced Pentium CPUs feature 57 additional base instructions that boost the performance of multimedia and signal processing operations written for the MMX scheme. In addition, Intel is beefing up the Pentium’s primary cache and pipelined architecture to squeeze more performance out of existing applications. MMX Pentiums for the desktop will run at 166 MHz and 200 MHz, while notebook MMX Pentium CPUs will run at 150 MHz and 166 MHz.
Users won’t have to wait long to get their hands on the new hardware. Intel has been stockpiling the new chips for months, making sure that retailers have adequate supplies to begin shipping systems in volume immediately after the MMX launch. If you didn’t buy a PC over the holidays, you’re in luck: Prices for MMX systems should run from $50 to $200 more than existing Pentium systems, giving you strong performance for your buck.

What About Existing Pentiums?
While the enhanced CPUs are socket-compatible with standard Pentiums, the MMX CPUs run at 2.8 volts internally and 3.3 volts externally to minimize thermal output. The split voltage requires motherboards to provide voltage regulation for the CPU. Expect Intel to sell OverDrive processors for existing systems before midyear.
And that’s about when things should get hectic again. Not only will we see the expected MMX OverDrive chips from Intel, but AMD and Cyrix should both ship MMX CPUs of their own. The Cyrix M2 will build upon the current 6×86 processor, adding the 57 MMX instructions, a 64K primary cache (up from 16K), and clock speeds as high as 225 MHz. AMD will answer with the MMX-savvy K6, which employs a large 64K primary cache and a RISC-like core processor to maximize performance. Both chips will plug into the existing Socket 7 pin out used by Pentium CPUs.

Klamath and Beyond
Around the same time, Intel will release a CPU code-named Klamath, which should push the P6 architecture found in Pentium Pro CPUs toward the mainstream. Klamath loses the Pentium Pro’s dual-cavity design that puts the processor and 256K secondary cache on a large, unified die. Instead, the CPU and separate cache will sit inside a processor cartridge that Intel calls a Single Edge Connector (SEC). The change allows Intel to push clock rates–expect 233-MHz Klamath CPUs–and achieve higher production yields. The new processor will incorporate the MMX instructions, and will support four-way symmetric multiprocessing for servers and workstations. Not surprisingly, Klamath-based desktops will be quite expensive initially.
Further out, the picture gets murky. There’s a Klamath follow-on, code named Deschutes, that should ship in the latter part of 1997. Deschutes will feature the Klamath core, but will be built on a smaller 2.5-micron process (down from 3.5 micron) that should lower power consumption and enable still-higher clock rates. The Deschutes architecture should also be the first P6 design suitable for use in notebook PCs–probably sometime in 1998.

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