new Intel, AMD competitor?

[hd581]

What do you guys think of this Transmeta company? Supposedly they're targeting the portable devices (laptop, PDA's) market with a new low power chip. It's a RISC that can act like a CISC (and consequently run x86 software). Interesting, since RISC is faster....

[CMonster]

I haven't heard of their project, perhaps you could include a link in your post so we can go check it out.

Of course you know that at the heart of current AMD chips is a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Core [a mechanic with a one-size-fits-all wrench]).

I think the next serious competitor will be VIA/Cyrix with their new "Joshua" processor (http://www.viatech.com/products/cyrjoshprev.htm)


[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 01-18-2000).]

[Axel]

HD581 - do you have a link to a page to post here?

CMonster - VIA/CYRIX ???- you sure you aren't inhailing the same jet-fumes NAVY menitoned in another post - I'll probably never go there - got burned too bad the last time I tried that combo.

But then we'll never know - perhaps Cyrix can stop their stuff from crashing/conflicting too bad in the future. The market is definitely there and growing.

[CMonster]

Axel - did you look at the link?

I don't know about real-world performance, but what they are proposing is basically a socket 370/ "P3" class processor with 256 - 320kb integrated L2 cache, 64kb L1 cache, and 3D-Now instruction set. At .18 fabrication process, as long as it does not run hot like the old Cyrixs' did it may well be a good candidate for overclocking - heck, they may not even lock the multiplier like some other companies do.

...and they promise them dirt cheap too!

[hd581]

Sorry about forgeting that to post that link, Monster, here it is:
http://cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/01/17/transmeta.reut/index.html

About AMD: AMD chips are based on RISC? Didn't know that....

About VIA/Cyrix: Funny I thought 3D! Now(tm) was licensed specifically to AMD....

[Apostle 83]

I read about this processor a few days ago.... comments I heard said that it posed more of a threat to battery makers than intel or amd....

[SysOpt]

You guys need to check the SysOpt home page more often. We have about 10 news posts a day now, one yesterday was about Transmeta/Crusoe, one today talked about their press conference...

Scott

[chris__anderson]

linus torvolds works for transmets, so obviously they can do no wrong :-)

[hd581]

Whoops, hehe, sorry Sysopt, thanks for pointing that out. I'm scrounging around for links and its right here on this site....

[CMonster]

"...Transmeta's complex product designs, which place much of the chip's functions in the software instead of the hardware"

This chip will obivously never run with any Micro$oft product!

[UKLee]

To be frank, I was quite disappointed upon reading the further details about the Crusoe today... it looks like it isn't even going to be competing in the desktop PC market proper at all. And the technology is hardly something totally brand new and exciting either. It may make a big impact upon notebooks and other smaller computing devices, but unfortunately it doesn't look like it's really going to trouble AMD or Intel, which is a shame because more competition would have been good. Maybe I'll be surprised though.

[This message has been edited by UKLee (edited 01-19-2000).]

[seti]

CMonster, in the product launch they said it would run windows....that's where the money is. And as a new company they have to hit the money. They ran windows in the product demo as well.

Hey, I can't insert text anymore....like when I put the text cursor somewhere and type, it goes over text I've typed already....that sucks, what's going on?? It works now...odd.

[This message has been edited by seti (edited 01-19-2000).]

[Joel Kleppinger]

seti, hit your Insert key and try again.. You probably bumped it when trying to hit backspace or something.

[seti]

Thanks Joel http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif, first time that's happend to me...I was almost worried cuz I just did a clean install this morning.


Good, and lots of info on Crusoe:
http://betanews.efront.com/article.php3?sid=948322070

[This message has been edited by seti (edited 01-19-2000).]

[seti]

Another feature it has is dynamic power consumption. It scales the voltage and speed of the chip in relation to the work load. Also from the live webcast that I caught a peice that it actully takes note of what opperations it's doing most and optimises(sp) itself for those instructions....I may be wrong, I wasn't really listening. And that the hardware is "flashable" similar to the SBLive. Once again, I wasn't really listening too closely, I've been up for like 30 hours. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[CMonster]

seti - what I said was a joke! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif We have "Winmodems" now we will have a "WinCPU"

[Axel]

OUCH - CMonster - the beatings will commence later!! - To EVEN SUGGEST a WINCPU!!!-
What is that - True Digital Blaspheme?!!!

[seti]

Sorry, didn't get it. Oopps http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif