pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

Cyrix 6x86MX

Cyrix’s response to Intel’s MMX technology was the 6x86MX, launched in mid-1997, shortly before the company was acquired by National Semiconductor. The company stuck with the Socket 7 format for its new chip, a decision which held down costs to system builders and ultimately consumers by extending the life of existing chipsets and motherboards.

The architecture of the new chip remains essentially the same as that of its predecessor, with the addition of MMX instructions, a few enhancements to the Floating Point Unit, a larger 64KB unified primary cache and an enhanced memory-management unit. Its dual-pipeline design is similar to the Pentium’s but simpler and more flexible than the latter’s RISC-based approach.

The 6x86MX was well-received in the marketplace, with a 6x86MX/PR233 (running at a clock speed of 187MHz) proving faster than both a 233MHz Pentium II and K6. The MX was also the first leading processor capable of running on a 75MHz external bus, which provides obvious bandwidth advantages and boosts overall performance. On the downside, and in common with previous Cyrix processors, the 6x86MX’s floating-point performance was significantly less good than that of its competitors, adversely affecting 3D graphics performance.

The Cyrix MII is an evolution of the 6x86MX, operating at higher frequencies. By the summer of 1998 0.25-micron MII-300 and MII-333 processors were being produced out of National Semiconductor’s new manufacturing facility; in Maine and the company claimed to have already seen shrinks of its 0.25-micron process to produce 0.22-micron geometries on its way to its stated goal of 0.18 micron the following year.

However by 1999, while AMD and Intel were leapfrogging one another in clock speeds, reaching 450 MHz and beyond, National Semiconductor were in financial trouble and Cyrix were lagging well behind their rivals, taking almost a year to push the MII from PR-300 to PR-333. It was no great suprise therefore when in August of that year, Cyrix finally bowed out of the PC desktop business, with National Semiconductor selling the rights to its x86 CPUs to Taiwan-based chipset manufacturer VIA Technologies.

  • Cyrix 6×86 CPU – the first Pentium compatible processor
  • Cyrix 6x86MX
  • Cyrix MediaGX

Filed Under: Cyrix CPUs

Latest Articles

Creating, Moving, Renaming and Copying Files and Directories in Linux

Most basic Linux file and directory management - creating, renaming, moving and copying - can be achieved with the use of just three Linux commands. Their use is fairly straightforward, though it's probably a good idea to be reasonably familiar with the Linux directory structure before getting … [Read More...]

Direct DRAM

Conventional DRAM architectures have reached their practical upper limit in operating frequency and bus width. With mass market CPUs operating at over 300MHz and media processors executing more than 2 GOPs, it is clear that their external … [Read More...]

CD-ROM TrueX Technology

Based on the aim of enabling users to run application direct from CD without first cacheing to the hard disk drive, Zen Research's TrueX technology takes a different route to increasing the performance of CD-ROM drives - addressing data … [Read More...]

A Harsh Reality You Can’t Ignore About Network Information Security

We are becoming more and more connected to our lives with computer technology. They help to process data at work. We receive money using plastic … [Read More...]

What is the Best VPN for Gamers?

Of the 44% of UK Internet users who have used a virtual private network (VPN) at some point in their lives, approximately 39% of this demographic are … [Read More...]

Think About Headless Commerce as of a Modular System

In recent years, eCommerce has transformed to where consumers no longer handle purchases on conventional websites. Shopping is currently carried out … [Read More...]

Service That Succeeds: How To Build an Effective IT Service Desk

In today’s tech-forward world, building a capable IT service team is essential for businesses hoping to scale tech-related hurdles and soar past the … [Read More...]

A simple PC guide on keeping safe while using public Wi-Fi

Did you know that there is a cyberattack every 39 seconds? You are more likely to be a victim if you are lax about your digital security. This … [Read More...]

Motivating Students to Learn Computer Science

Computer science has been an important part of the educational curriculum for decades. Professor Seymour Papert, a mathematician from South Africa … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

An Overview of ADSL – What It Is and How It Works

ADSL has several similarities to ISDN. Both technologies require that copper phone lines be electrically clean and both … [Read More...]

Eliminating Search.strtpoint.com Browser Hijacker From Your Computer

One of the most intriguing but very antagonistic malware programs recently created is the search.strtpoint.com. From its name itself, you would smell … [Read More...]

Updating the BIOS

In fact, motherboard manufacturers have made the process of updating your BIOS considerably easier, by providing software that allows this - and more … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2022 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors