rteasdal@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Falconer) (03/09/91)
There has been a fair bit of speculation locally about the
AMD 386 clones, which supposedly (?) are to be formally announced and
shipped this month. The silicon is for real - in fact, a thief in
Malaysia hijacked an AMD truck running from the local AMD final
assembly (no fab there, if I have it right) to the airport. He went
straight to the packages containing the Am386 chips and took only
those devices, out of the many he had to choose from... sounds like
the Intel allocation policy has some of the Asian clonemakers hungry
enough to do just about _anything_ to get 386s!
Does anyone have any details about the design? It is, based
on the prepress, a full CMOS implementation with an ultra low-power
mode eminently suitable for laptops. Also, there is a 40 Mhz version
which is reputedly going to be packaged with a fast coprocessor as
a 486 price buster. It sounds as though AMD has a real winner going
here, and the Intel monopoly has been broken at last (hurrah!).
--
|||||| Russ Teasdale -- rteasdal@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU -- (Falconer) |||||||
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Gentlemen, if we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure." - D. Quaylesysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) (03/10/91)
In article <27d84e3c.3f6a@petunia.CalPoly.EDU>, rteasdal@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Falconer) writes: > There has been a fair bit of speculation locally about the >AMD 386 clones, which supposedly (?) are to be formally announced and >shipped this month. The silicon is for real - in fact, a thief in >Malaysia hijacked an AMD truck running from the local AMD final >assembly (no fab there, if I have it right) to the airport. He went >straight to the packages containing the Am386 chips and took only >those devices, out of the many he had to choose from... sounds like >the Intel allocation policy has some of the Asian clonemakers hungry >enough to do just about _anything_ to get 386s! And how d'ya know it wasn't a covert action on the part of Intel? :-) Reform may be dying in the Soviet Union, but we have the right to introduce it to the DECUS Board of Directors. -- > SYSMGR@CADLAB.ENG.UMD.EDU < --
tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley) (03/11/91)
> There has been a fair bit of speculation locally about the >AMD 386 clones, which supposedly (?) are to be formally announced and >shipped this month. I don't know if this constitutes a formal announcement, but there is a giant billboard on I-95 not too far from the Boca Raton IBM plant where PCs are (or used to be anyway) made. It says something like: "Test drive the 1991 model Am386". I can't recall ever seeing a billboard advertising a CPU chip before (although I can imagine it being more common in California than Florida). -- ====================================================================== domain: tahorsley@csd.harris.com USMail: Tom Horsley uucp: ...!uunet!hcx1!tahorsley 511 Kingbird Circle Delray Beach, FL 33444 +==== Censorship is the only form of Obscenity ======================+ | (Wait, I forgot government tobacco subsidies...) | +====================================================================+
mash@mips.com (John Mashey) (03/12/91)
In article <TOM.91Mar11071917@rcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com> tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley) writes: ... >I don't know if this constitutes a formal announcement, but there is a >giant billboard on I-95 not too far from the Boca Raton IBM plant where >PCs are (or used to be anyway) made. It says something like: "Test drive >the 1991 model Am386". >I can't recall ever seeing a billboard advertising a CPU chip before >(although I can imagine it being more common in California than Florida). Probably. There's one billboard in Santa Clara South of Great America that usually has some AMD chip promotion. (At one point, it said something like "Entering 20 MIPS country", causing some people to mystify us for a while by telling us they'd seen our (MIPS Computer) billboard. I don't normally drive that way, so I don't know what's there now. Going North on 101 from Palo Alto (Menlo Park or Redwood City), there's often an Intel billboard; I've seen 2 or 3 different ones in last year or two, including the 286 with X through it, and others. Although I haven't seen them myself, I've heard that the AM386 billboard opposite Boca Raton has clones in the obvious places elsewhere... -- -john mashey DISCLAIMER: <generic disclaimer, I speak for me only, etc> UUCP: mash@mips.com OR {ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!mash DDD: 408-524-7015, 524-8253 or (main number) 408-720-1700 USPS: MIPS Computer Systems MS 1/05, 930 E. Arques, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
ckp@grebyn.com (Checkpoint Technologies) (03/12/91)
In article <TOM.91Mar11071917@rcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com> tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley) writes: >I don't know if this constitutes a formal announcement, but there is a >giant billboard on I-95 not too far from the Boca Raton IBM plant where >PCs are (or used to be anyway) made. It says something like: "Test drive >the 1991 model Am386". > >I can't recall ever seeing a billboard advertising a CPU chip before >(although I can imagine it being more common in California than Florida). There's a billboard along rt 28 between Manassas and Centreville, VA, advertising the Intel 386, "The Computer Inside". Rather like the ads they've been placing in magazines lately, the graffiti-style ads. I was surprised to see such a thing. -- First comes the logo: C H E C K P O I N T T E C H N O L O G I E S / / \\ / / Then, the disclaimer: All expressed opinions are, indeed, opinions. \ / o Now for the witty part: I'm pink, therefore, I'm spam! \/
rteasdal@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Falconer) (03/12/91)
In article <TOM.91Mar11071917@rcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com> tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley) writes: >> There has been a fair bit of speculation locally about the >I don't know if this constitutes a formal announcement, but there is a >giant billboard on I-95 not too far from the Boca Raton IBM plant where >PCs are (or used to be anyway) made. It says something like: "Test drive >the 1991 model Am386". > >I can't recall ever seeing a billboard advertising a CPU chip before >(although I can imagine it being more common in California than Florida). It is in fact rather common in the Bay Area (_vide_ Silicon Valley). Intel has a number of billboards plugging their product; AMD used to have a board advertising a fast CMOS EPROM up along Hwy 101 in Santa Clara (title: Rocket Chip). We spoke with a gnome at AMD Investor Relations today. The Am386 will _probably_ be formally released this month. Reading between the lines, we concluded that there may still be a legal hurdle to clear before this can be done in an aboveboard manner. Since AMD has beaten Intel every time they've challenged in court, I don't think that the intro will be delayed much longer... -- |||||| Russ Teasdale -- rteasdal@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU -- (Falconer) ||||||| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Gentlemen, if we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure." - D. Quayle
bill@mwca.UUCP (Bill Sheppard) (03/13/91)
In article <855@spim.mips.COM> mash@mips.com (John Mashey) writes: >In article <TOM.91Mar11071917@rcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com> tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley) writes: >>...I don't know if this constitutes a formal announcement, but there is a >>giant billboard on I-95 not too far from the Boca Raton IBM plant where >>PCs are (or used to be anyway) made. It says something like: "Test drive >>the 1991 model Am386". >...There's one billboard in Santa Clara South of >Great America that usually has some AMD chip promotion... >...I don't normally drive that way, so I don't know what's there now. It is an AM386 billboard, though something slightly different than the one in Boca - I think it may be just a giant "AM386". Of course, this billboard is roughly 500 yards from Intel's headquarters (which are undergoing a _%@&$*!___gigantic_ expansion right across the street from me which will cause gridlock in the whole area, but that's another story). AMD often puts technoid stuff on there that probably baffles a fair percentage of the population, though less here than most places. They had one with a speedometer calibrated in Mb/s with the needle at 100 and a reference to FDDI recently. -- ############################################################################## # Bill Sheppard -- bills@microware.com -- {uunet,sun}!mcrware!mwca!bill # # Microware Systems Corporation --- OS-9: Seven generations beyond OS/2!! # ######Opinions expressed are my own, though you'd be wise to adopt them!######
phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (03/13/91)
In article <27dc4882.1b54@petunia.CalPoly.EDU> rteasdal@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Falconer) writes: | We spoke with a gnome at AMD Investor Relations today. The |Am386 will _probably_ be formally released this month. Reading between |the lines, we concluded that there may still be a legal hurdle to clear |before this can be done in an aboveboard manner. This was probably the trademark issue over the digits 3 8 6, which has been decided in favor of AMD. The Am386 still hasn't been formally announced yet (coming very soon!), but some gunmen stole a substantial number of them (in a speed grade not offered by Intel) while they were on their way to the airport. (see current EET) I guess this is the only way to get a hot Am386, since they use so little power. I do not speak for the company and these are only my personal opinions. -- The government is not your mother. The government doesn't love you.
sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) (03/13/91)
In article <1991Mar13.002330.16671@amd.com>, phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) writes: >The Am386 still hasn't been formally announced yet (coming very soon!), >but some gunmen stole a substantial number of them (in a speed grade >not offered by Intel) while they were on their way to the airport. (see >current EET) > >I guess this is the only way to get a hot Am386, since they use >so little power. Euhh, there's two types of Am386. One is the 40Mhz "hot" chip; the other a 25Mhz CMOS implementation. I don't think they've put the 40Mhzer into CMOS (yet). Reform may be dying in the Soviet Union, but we have the right to introduce it to the DECUS Board of Directors. -- > SYSMGR@CADLAB.ENG.UMD.EDU < --
phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (03/14/91)
bill@mwca.UUCP (Bill Sheppard) writes: >AMD often puts technoid stuff on there that probably baffles a fair percentage >of the population, though less here than most places. They had one with >a speedometer calibrated in Mb/s with the needle at 100 and a reference to >FDDI recently. But the amazing thing about living in Silly Valley is that AMD is not the only company that has put FDDI on a billboard... -- The government is not your mother. The government doesn't love you.
phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (03/14/91)
In article <009458A1.42C717A0@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) writes: |Euhh, there's two types of Am386. One is the 40Mhz "hot" chip; the other a |25Mhz CMOS implementation. I don't think they've put the 40Mhzer into CMOS |(yet). What process do you think the 40 MHz chip is? What is your source of information? Where would a 33 MHz chip fit in your view of AMD's plans? -- The government is not your mother. The government doesn't love you.
sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) (03/15/91)
In article <1991Mar13.195943.18007@amd.com>, phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) writes: >In article <009458A1.42C717A0@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) writes: >|Euhh, there's two types of Am386. One is the 40Mhz "hot" chip; the other a >|25Mhz CMOS implementation. I don't think they've put the 40Mhzer into CMOS >|(yet). > >What process do you think the 40 MHz chip is? Dunno. Normal? :) My brain draws a blank and I don't have Mr. Byte at hand. >What is your source of information? InfoWorld and Byte. I didn't memorize either one (covering my rear...). >Where would a 33 MHz chip fit in your view of AMD's plans? If they develop a low-power version, they'll kill off the castrated, er 386SXes and compete with the castrated '486 (er: SXes) in laptops & luggables. Also might be a nice toy to put into a calculator :-) The real question in my mind: Where does AMD go with the '386 from here? Do they put the math co-processor and some cache on-chip? Do they go head-to-head with Intel and (at some point) put multiple '386es on a chip? HOPEfully, they will "crank the clock" and offer a broad range of products from low power, low speed (25Mhz) to high power (50+Mhz) within the next year. Reform may be dying in the Soviet Union, but we have the right to introduce it to the DECUS Board of Directors. -- > SYSMGR@CADLAB.ENG.UMD.EDU < --
peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) (03/15/91)
There have been gobs of intel billboards all over Houston for like a year
now. Trying to impress Compaq, I guess.
\\ //
(when I first saw the 2>8<6 billboards I was hoping they were the beginning
// \\
of the end of the 80x86, but, alas, it was just the 2 they were upset about)
--
Peter da Silva. `-_-' peter@ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180. 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?"plinio@boole.seas.ucla.edu (Plinio Barbeito) (03/16/91)
In article <00945989.217CDD80@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) writes: >The real question in my mind: Where does AMD go with the '386 from here? Do >they put the math co-processor and some cache on-chip? Do they go head-to-head >with Intel and (at some point) put multiple '386es on a chip? HOPEfully, they >will "crank the clock" and offer a broad range of products from low power, low >speed (25Mhz) to high power (50+Mhz) within the next year. Why invest a great deal to compete with the 486 when the lower end market is easy pickings? A low-cost version with an on-chip cache large enough to obviate the need for the cost of an external cache seems to be a more marketable idea. With the 286 (and lower) market doing so well, why limit yourself to the power-user market? plin -- ----- ---- --- -- ------ ---- --- -- - - - plinio@seas.ucla.edu I don't think therefore I'm not
peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) (03/19/91)
How about a 68000 emulator, so people can run Mac software under Windows? :->, OK? -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' peter@ferranti.com +1 713 274 5180. 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?"
wolfe@vw.ece.cmu.edu (Andrew Wolfe) (03/22/91)
Sorry - not true. The 40MHz chips are CMOS. 25MHz Am386SX chips have been hinted at.