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It's really a shame that i have to even write this , but here it goes: I am not responsible for any damage that this page has caused you , your dog , you wife your boss , your time , your web browser , your computer , your life , your mom , etc... you  view everything on this page at your own risk. I am not responsible for any spelling errors ,  wrong facts , lies (not that you'll find any). All opinions are of the person who wrote them , and remember , they are only opinions so you dont have to kill someone because they disagree with you. Lastly , all the graphics and content on this page are 
copyrighted (c) 1997 by RageMage@home.com  unless otherwise specified. If you have any questions or comments , please feel free to e-mail me at the above address. 
  

AMD's CPU Plans 

     AMD has several new plans for the future. Very soon , AMD will be releasing the K6+ running at 266mhz. Basically , this chip will be a 0.25 micron version of the K6 , nothing special. Soon afterwards (AMD is gearing towards H2 1998) AMD will release it's AMD K6+-3D. Before this however , AMD will have a prelude to this biggie w/the AMD K6-3D (notice the + is missing) This chip will run at 300mhz (3x100mhz) and sit on a socket 7 like it's older brother the K6. It will use 0.25 micron technology and have 9.3 million transistors. This new chip will feature many improvements to the original K6 , including enhanced MMX , special 3D and multimedia functions which will enhance 3D modelling preformance if enabled. (Let's hope this new technology will not turn out to be like Intel's MMX. The K6+-3D will be AMD's real big hit. Running at 400mhz initially and moving to 450mhz later on in 1998 , the K6+-3D will feature 256L2 cache ON-CHIP running at CLOCK SPEED! Not only that  , this chip will also support L3 CACHE as well! The K6+-3D will still run on a socket 7 (let's hope that Socket 7 can handle 450mhz!) and have 21.3 million transistors (as much as some of digitals processors!) AMD will also be releasing a Slot 1 compatible chip , the AMD K7. This chip is scheduled for production in 1999 when INTEL unveils it's MERCED (IA-64). It will run at 500mhz and up. ***news*** The AMD K7 will be 64bit according to an AMD contact who e-mailed me today(12/11/97). 

Table summary of AMD's upcoming chips. 
 
 

Cyrix's CPU Plans ***REAL soon*** 

     I do not have any real information on Cyrix's upcoming Cayenne Processor with the exception of what is included in the press release. I see no point in rewriting the press release on my page , so I have provided a link to it below. 
Click here for Cyrix Press Release. 
However , just a small note: The Cayenne processor will only be released in 2nd HALF 1998 , and come in PR300 & PR400 flavors (who knows what speed) The core is still under development according to Cyrix. 

Intel's CPU Plans ***REAL soon*** 

     With all the hype on AMD's K6-3D and 3D+ , people have tended to neglect Intel's upcoming suprises. Let me tell you , there is lot's coming! First of all , just a note about the MERCED (IA-64) Intel's first 64bit RISC based chip (though Intel likes to deny that it is entirely RISC :·) The Merced will be released in 1999 according to Intel , not 1998. (rumors...rumors...rumors...) 
However , Intel does have many plans for it's Pentium II processor in 1998. The new Pentium II's , codenamed Deschutes , after a river in Oregon I believe (maybe Washington , I will check into it...anyway who cares?) will soon dominate the CPU world. The Deschutes will be a Pentium II w/0.25 micron fab. size and running anywhere from 333mhz (66x5.0) to 450 and up by the end of 1998 (100mhz bus). The new chipset that will be released along with the Deschutes is the 440BX chipset , which includes full support for the 100mhz bus. Also , Intel will be featuring a server version of the Slot 1 Deschutes , also called Deschutes , however this one will sit on a new connector , known as 'Slot 2'. Slot 2 will support quad CPU configs and much more cachable RAM. The Slot 2 Deschutes will feature ON-CHIP L2 Cache running at clock speed with sizes from 512K up to 2MEGABYTES! ***Important Note*** Slot 2 will not replace Slot 1. (this is not copied from you Tom:·) Slot 2 will most likely be the dead end!! Think of Slot 1 as the Socket 7 of the future , and Slot 2 as the Socket 8 of the future.  Intel told me that Slot 2 will not replace Slot 1 as well. 

Anyway , here is a summary of Intel's upcoming ventures in table format. 
 
 

IDT CPU Plans ***soon*** 

Tseng's Video Card Plans 

     Tseng has begun working on it's first 3D accelerator , the Et6300. It should have been released early 1997 , however , due to lack of availability of 3.3v MDRAM (a proprietary type of RAM , which is why it's availability is limited) , the Et6300 will not make it's way to the market in 1997. About the last sentence , I personally think that this is a cover for a more serious problem on Tseng's part. Since I have not gotten responses from any one at Tseng , I cannot verify this. Tseng is also working on AGP support , which we may see included in the Et6300. 

3DFX's Plans for upcoming Voodoo 2. 

     Most of you have probably heard of 3dfx's upcoming voodoo 2. With claims of 100+fps in Quake (640x480 GL) , this card will most likely be the strongest blow to the video card markety since the original voodoo. With support for both AGP and PCI , as well as a special SLI mode , in which 2 Voodoo 2 cards cooperate together to acheive double the speed , The Voodoo 2 will dominate for years to come. The Voodoo 2 features more RAM than the original voodoo , anywhere from 6Megs (2frame/2texture/2texture) to 12Megs or RAM on a single card. (4/4/4). The Voodoo 2 uses a unique 192bit memory architecture to acheive bandwith in excess of 2gig/sec!! The only worry I have about this card is the price. The Voodoo 2 will most likely cost around 300$ , a hefty sum of money for a 3D only card. Many of you may be wondering what companies will be producing Voodoo 2 based cards. Well , Currently there are a few companies which I am aware of. They are listed below. 

Jazz Multimeda RENEGADE 3D - a 6meg board (2/2/2) which will be priced around 200$ 

Diamond Multimedia Monster 3D 2 - another 6meg board (2/2/2) I am not sure of the pricing as of yet. 

Creative Labs - dont know much about this one yet. Most likely a 6meg board as well. 

Canopus - Again , I am laking information about this board. All I know is that it most likely won't debut as a 12meg board. 

California Graphics WIZARD 3D - The biggie. Californai graphics will be releasing  the 12meg (4/4/4) Voodoo 2 board , selling at ~399$ 
 
399$ for the ultimate in gaming? Is it worth it?  Click here for some opinions on the matter. 

Expect more on this card soon! 
 

NEC's/PowerVR's Future : Highlander (PMX) 

    With the Voodoo 2 coming out in a few months , and competitors such as nVidia and Rendition , the PowerVR chip has been left in the dust. It's affordable price has kept it alive somewhat , however  , this was not enough for NEC and PowerVR. In the works now is the latest addition to the PowerVR family , the PMX , or Highlander chip. This chip is expected to perform in excess of 3x as fast as the current PowerVR chip , making it competition for the all mighty Voodoo 2. The card should be producing fill rates comparable to the Voodoo 2. (at 70mhz , 75million , at 100mhz , over 100million  , Voodoo 2 does 90million) Not only does the Highlander promise to offer Voodoo 2 preformance , it is a 2D/3D card , supports up to 32megs of Video Ram , and will cost around 140$. Now , a card like this priced at 140$ will most likely top the markets , and give the Voodoo 2 a run for its money. Then again , you never know. We will have to wait and see if Highlander lives up to its promises.