Nostalgia question: Cyrix processors

[+Warwagon MVC]

@ Warwagon, you could've gone out for a burger and some fries and come back with time to spare (was that you in the video?)

 

That was not me in the video .You should go watch some of my videos, then you would know what I sound like :)

 

http://www.youtube.com/rcountrycomputer

[leesmithg]

Did you ever come across issues trying to get systems to work with Windows 98SE and dare I mention WinME?

 

@ Warwagon, you could've gone out for a burger and some fries and come back with time to spare (was that you in the video?)

 

I first used a cyrix on Windows 95, not a problem, then Win98 then I had the Win98 SE upgrade disk, so when Win98SE, not a problem.

 

I did use WindowsME the day it was released, but don't remember if I had any problems.

 

Next operating system I used was XP and I had built a new PC; this time I used an intel.

 

So not really had any problems with Cyrix on operating systems you mentioned.

 

I have a buddy that works on the VIA x86 cpus, they're still alive and well making chips with x86 instructions for specific markets. It's done by CenTaur technology here in Austin and its a great bunch of guys.

 

Even with all the quirks of the Cyrix/Via CPU's, they did achieve their goal of helping break the price barrier of PC's and showed what smaller 3rd party companies could achieve by licensing IP.

 

Exactly, they helped make PC's more affordable for poorer people.

[HawkMan]

Exactly, they helped make PC's more affordable for poorer people.

While this is partly true, it's very exaggparated and potentially misleading or even wrong. It completely ignores that there was a second player in the intel compatible market working to reduce prices. This second player was much bigger than Cyrix, much more successfull, had far better performance, and generally better reliability(provided the mono didn't have a chip that said VIA on it anyway) and this second player is still around today in the market.

This is of course AMD. Cyrix with its minuscule market and low performance didn't offer much in the way of threat to intel. And intels prices didn't really reduce compared to the market until after Cyrix was pushed out and AMD offered their talon CPUs with better performance than Intel at lower prices and we started getting more chipset makers and AMDs own chipsets started being released for the general public with far better stability as well.

[Torolol]

i really dislike intel when Cyrix was around,

simply because intel was trying to chase Cyrix out of market using legal suits.

 

Though Cyrix won most of the court battles, those however depleted their resources too much.

[Tralalak]

History

 

In 1999, VIA acquired most of Cyrix (CPUID: "CyrixInstead"), then a division of National Semiconductor and also Integrated Device Technology from Centaur Technology (CPUID: "CentaurHauls"), marking its entry into the x86 microprocessor market.

 

 

 

Present

 

 

Embedded Vertical Markets

 

 

My VIA EPIA M920-12Q Mini-ITX

 

 

My VIA EPIA M920-12Q - I/O ports

 

 

 

 

 

 

With VIA QuadCore you can play many games

 

 

source: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tralallak?feature=watch

source: http://diit.cz/clanek/test-via-quadcore-l4700e-1200-mhz/testy-renderovani-cinebench-pov-ray

source: http://diit.cz/clanek/test-akcelerace-4k-h264-na-integrovane-grafice/via-vx11h-vx900

 

 

 

Consumer horizontal market SOHO (Small office/home office)

 

 

 

 

 

Future Centaur/VIA "(Cyrix)" team 

 

Maybe this year yet: native and monolithic (single-die) VIA QuadCore CN-R with new 2MB L3 cache, SIMD up to AVX2 and 28nm lithography.

 

source: http://www.h-online.com/newsticker/news/item/Processor-Whispers-About-Austin-powers-and-patents-1742927.html

Hypothetical - maybe next year: "VIA 8-Core CN-R processor" models comprise may be two dies, each containing quad cores (VIA QuadCore CN-R), packaged in a multi-chip module (MCM)...

[HawkMan]

Why does a computer with not just one, but two HDMI ports still have PS/2 ports ? 

[Warboy]

I have a Cyrix x86 66mhz CPU around here somewhere, if people want. I can find it and post a picture of it.

[Raa]

Worst CPUs ever made IMO.

I remember having to work on them, overheated frequently, weren't compatible with some things and nowhere near as quick as Intel.

[leesmithg]

While this is partly true, it's very exaggparated and potentially misleading or even wrong. It completely ignores that there was a second player in the intel compatible market working to reduce prices. This second player was much bigger than Cyrix, much more successfull, had far better performance, and generally better reliability(provided the mono didn't have a chip that said VIA on it anyway) and this second player is still around today in the market.

This is of course AMD. Cyrix with its minuscule market and low performance didn't offer much in the way of threat to intel. And intels prices didn't really reduce compared to the market until after Cyrix was pushed out and AMD offered their talon CPUs with better performance than Intel at lower prices and we started getting more chipset makers and AMDs own chipsets started being released for the general public with far better stability as well.

This part ''

 

I have a buddy that works on the VIA x86 cpus, they're still alive and well making chips with x86 instructions for specific markets. It's done by CenTaur technology here in Austin and its a great bunch of guys.

 

Even with all the quirks of the Cyrix/Via CPU's, they did achieve their goal of helping break the price barrier of PC's and showed what smaller 3rd party companies could achieve by licensing IP.

 

Exactly, they helped make PC's more affordable for poorer people.''

 

Was a quote that cut out the person that wrote it and my comments, so not my words.

 

I answered with a similar comment to yours.