Stacking Up the Competition

Many manufacturers are competing with Intel to produce microprocessor chips. For many years, Intel's competitors produced clone copies of its chips, often slightly altering the original design to allow for faster processing speeds. A good example of this was the release by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) of a 40MHz version of the 386 processor to rival the 33MHz version that Intel was producing. Non-Intel, or clone, chips became popular because of the cheaper price and improved features.

Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)

Provided by Microsoft, the HCL lists all hardware that has been tested by Microsoft and has proved to work with a particular operating system. Hardware not on the HCL might work, but is not certain to.

In addition to clone chips, other manufacturers have produced powerful processors that are not based on Intel architecture. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Motorola have all produced powerful CPUs. Most of these chips are RISC-based CPUs designed to meet two needs: First, RISC-type chips could meet the powerful speed demands of Unix workstations; second, companies wanted to differentiate themselves from Intel to increase sales.

When Intel released the Pentium generation of processors, the clone manufacturers adopted their own unique naming conventions that steered away from the path that Intel laid with this new release. Intel at the same time was experiencing problems with the early release of its Pentium line, with the discovery of a high-level mathematical division problem. Intel's competitors took advantage of the opportunity by releasing their chips to compete with the Pentium processor.

The subsections that follow provide an overview of these processors:

• AMD

• Cyrix

• PowerPC

• Alpha

Warning 

Be sure to check the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) before attempting to buy non-Intel processors.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

In 1996, AMD introduced the K5 to combat the already released Intel Pentium processor. The K5 was released in a 64-bit version as a follow-up to the earlier K5x86, which resembled a higher-performance 486-based processor. The performance of the K5 equals the Pentium at a reduced cost to the consumer.

AMD soon followed the K5 generation with the release of the K6 processor. The K6 offers a boost by accelerating the audio, video, and 3-D capabilities of the chip in processing software, and adding MMX technology to compete with the Celeron, Pentium II, and Pentium III.

Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)

Software located in a ROM chip that is responsible for communicating directly between the computer hardware and the operating system.

In addition to competing with the latest PC processors equipped with MMX technology, the AMD K6 offers a bigger 'bang for the buck.' The AMD K6 processors still plug into standard motherboards by using current technology with chipset and Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) support, without the need for special motherboards required by processors such as the Intel Pentium Pro and Pentium II models.

AMD's latest processor versions are the Athlon (formerly the K7) and the Duron. Unlike earlier AMD processors, these processors cannot be used with standard motherboards. Instead, these processors require a special Athlon- or Duron-compatible motherboard. One factor that sets these chips apart from their Intel and Cyrix counterparts is that they use RISC technology. By using the reduced instruction set, they are able to process instructions at a more rapid rate. This capability and other improved implementations in design enable these chips to often outperform their Intel counterparts.

Note 

The Athlon family of processors is geared toward workstations and servers, while the Duron family of processors is geared toward lower-end business and home users.

Cyrix

Cyrix introduced a rival to the Intel Pentium processor in 1995. The first generation of its non-clone processor was named the MI 6x86 series. Although early releases of the MI encountered heat-related issues, Cyrix resolved the issues and produced a model that did not suffer from the initial design problem. The improved chip offered lower power consumption requirements that enabled the chip to operate at cooler temperatures.

Although the chip was originally designed to rival the Pentium, it included additional features found in the Intel Pentium Pro. One of the important features of the MI processor was the capability to predict the next instruction to process before encountering it, thereby considerably boosting processor performance.

A follow-up to the MI series of processors was the MII series, a direct competitor with the Celeron and Pentium II CPUs. The improved design included additional optimization, enabling instructions to be processed faster than by other processors. The MII processors' improved capabilities were overshadowed by incompatibilities with software that made them unable to take full advantage of the improved timing. Cyrix has since released software utilities and patches to address the timing issues. The MII features a set of 57 new instructions that are fully compatible with industry-standard MMX software.

Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI)

The microchip manufacturing innovation that IBM invented. It is based on the capability to enhance silicon technology by reducing the time it takes to move electricity through a conductor.

PowerPC

Apple, IBM, and Motorola developed the PowerPC as a new microprocessor technology. The PowerPC microprocessor uses RISC technology to produce a high processing rate. The innovative design of the PowerPC chip enables it to deliver high-performance computing power with lower power consumption than its counterparts.

The PowerPC chip is used in the IBM RS/6000 Unix-based workstation and in Apple Macintosh computers. Its design is much different from the traditional design of the Intel microprocessors. The term PowerPC refers to more than just a type of processor; it is also an architecture standard that outlines specifications by which manufacturers can design processors. The resulting designs that follow the specifications offer performance advantages and innovative manufacturing techniques such as those IBM created.

IBM developed one of the most significant changes in processor manufacturing, which it called Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology. The PowerPC 750, marketed by Apple Computer as the G3, was the first chip released that used this new manufacturing method. SOI technology provided increased processor performance while using low power consumption. Low power consumption is the key to producing products such as handheld devices, which operate for long periods of time powered by a battery. Since the PowerPC 750, Motorola has released the PowerPC MPC 7400, which is more commonly known in Apple circles as the G4.

Alpha

The Alpha is a high-speed microprocessor that DEC developed. The Alpha processor is typically found in workstations and servers that need more processing power than that found in Intel-based servers. Compaq, which has acquired DEC, has continued to enhance the speed and capabilities of the Alpha processor.

Virtual Address Extension (VAX)

The technology built by DEC to run the VMS platform computers.

Asymmetrical Multiprocessing (ASMP)

A computer architecture that uses multiple CPUs to improve the performance of the computer. In the ASMP model, one CPU is dedicated to managing tasks (which usually involves managing the other CPUs) for the computer system. The remaining CPUs process user tasks.

Warning 

Do not confuse the Alpha processor with the first line of DEC processors referred to as the Alpha, or Virtual Address Extension (VAX). The Alpha processor is unique and is much more advanced than the VAX.

One of the Alpha chip's selling points is that it is the only other chip besides the Intel x86 generations of processors that can run the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. Alpha-equipped workstations are often characterized as the fastest NT workstations on the planet. NT takes advantage of the Alpha's capability to produce or generate graphics up to eight times faster than Intel Pentium-based systems. Alpha chips are also commonly found in Unix workstations.

Note 

Although Microsoft and Compaq do not support Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 on the Alpha platform, other operating systems, including Compaq's version of Unix and Linux, are supported. Other manufacturers, such as Samsung, will also be producing servers and workstations running on the latest Alpha processors.