Intel Corp today formally announces a range of OverDrive processors – a set of single-chip upgrades for giving a mid-life kick to desktop machines based on its 80486 and next-generation processors. A performance booster for the 80486SX chip was announced at the end of last year (CI No 1,814), giving 100% internal clock rate speed-up to the 16MHz, 20MHz and 25MHz processors with the insertion, by the user, of an upgrade chip into the previously redundant co-processor socket. Now Intel is offering upgrade options on all its 80486 chips to bridge the gap between their performance and that of their successors. In the case of the 80486SX and 80486, the upgrade is by means of a clock doubling chip based on the new 80486DX2 processor (CI No 1,873) – which benefits the integer as well as the floating point performance when placed in the OverDrive vacancy socket, as depicted in Intel’s glossy television advertising campaign. According to Intel, tests on a 20MHz 80486SX equipped with upgrade chip showed Lotus 1-2-3 running 481% faster than on an equivalent 80486SX with disabled co-processor; it ran Paradox database software 77% faster, and WordPerfect 5.1 62% faster. OverDrive for the 16MHz and 20MHz 80486SX is available now for UKP360; the 25MHz version will ship in the second half for UKP460. An upgrade chip for the standard 80486 will also ship in the second half, though no price has yet been set. Users of old 80486-based desktop systems, which don’t have an upgrade socket, will also be offered a boost option – in this case the main processor will have to be dislodged by the dealer, to be replaced by the upgrade chip; this option will be available also in the second half. An upgrade for the 80486DX2 processor will ship next year, based on core P5 – 80586 – technology. Socket specifications are available now to OEM customers wanting to get appropriate systems ready. While Intel is confident that users will like the option of administering a mid-life kick to their desktop systems while they wait for the delivery of Intel’s next-generation processors, the firm does not believe that its OverDrive strategy will lengthen system life and discourage users from buying new, more powerful machines. Intel is about to launch another extravagant advertising campaign to promote the new OverDrive line-up. Meanwhile, as implied a couple of weeks ago (CI No 1,922) new 80486SX chips no longer include the disabled floating point unit, enabling them to be packaged in a plastic surface mount device, which is cheaper to the OEM customer – $120 in quantities of more than 1,000, from July.
