Intel's Pentium finally arrives, complete with local bus and multiprocessor support chips. (Intel Corp.'s next-generation x86 CPU) (EDN-Processor Update)(includes list of features and Standard Performance Evaluation Cooperative benchmarks)

EDN, March, 1993 by Weiss, Ray

The wait is over. Intel's Pentium, the next-generation x86 CPU, is officially here. And it's competitive: Pentium delivers superscaler, second-generation RISC performance, bridging the gap between PCs and workstations. Running at 66 MHz, Pentium achieves benchmarks of 64.5 SPECint92 and 56.9 SPECfp92, scoring well above first-generation RISCs and lagging only the leading second-generation RISC CPUs, such as DEC's Alpha and SGI's Mips R4400.

Pentium gives Intel its second wind in the competitive PC world, supplementing Intel's 386 and 486 processors. However, the 386 is under heavy assault by x86 chip-clone vendors, such as AMD and Cyrix. And, true 486s are expected to emerge from both vendors. Additionally, AMD and Cyrix are purportedly working on...

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