Attention in the chip market may be focused on Intel Corp’s current tussle with Advanced Micro Devices Inc, but on May 24 Cyrix Corp will start rolling out its second generation of 80486-compatible chips. The Cx486S is designed to be pin-compatible with Intel’s 80486SX and will come in 33MHz, 40MHz and 50MHz versions, as well as a clock-doubled 25/50MHz version. Other features include a 2Kb on-chip write-back cache. A low power, compact version dubbed the Cx486Se requires only 3.3V, but consequently has a maximum clock speed of 33MHz. Both can work with the new Cx487S maths co-processor. Prices will be set at the May announcement. The Richardson, Texas-based manufacturer also gave a hint of its future plans: in the third quarter the company plans to launch its first full 80486DX pin-compatible processor, currently nicknamed the M7. This promises unspecified higher clock speed, a on-chip floating point unit and 8Kb cache.
