Rise and Fall of Cyrix

The company is not able to make processors luxury, but a means of calculating.

As the leading producers of processors, you can now call? Undoubtedly, nor how many would you have listed, on top of the list are two monster processor industry - Intel and AMD. But even twelve years ago, AMD had chances corporation not to be mentioned - the second line pedestal forgotten now been firmly company Cyrix ...

Company history dates back quite far in 1988, when the U.S. city of Richardson, two experts on mathematical coprocessor with high productivity have decided to organize a company that produces those goods in which they best understand. The names of Engineers merchants - Jerry Rogers and Tom Braytman. Both of them to the ground Cyrix worked in the company Texas Instruments.

The first product of the new producer of processors - a mathematical coprocessor 83D87, compatible with the architecture x86, - became a hit due to the fact that his performance was one and a half times higher than for their own Intel 'UBF coprocessor. By 1992, Cyrix already dorosla to release not just coprocessor, a full-fledged central processors - they were called 486SLC and 486DLC. The name was chosen for them fail (however, this was branded "a disease" for Cyrix): the fact is that in fact both of these processors were not compatible with the 486 - m and with the older, 386 - m processor from Intel, though the processor can execute commands and 486 were higher than 386 - and, productivity. For the low price of its central production Cyrix processors have become popular among those who wanted to update its 386 - th.

After some time Cyrix was able to provide analogue and 486 - the first, but did so later than AMD. In addition, the processor from Cyrix was less productive. But, more importantly, it was much cheaper than 486 - and, thus managed to conquer segment nizkobyudzhetnyh computers. With the Pentium processor history repeat itself - Cyrix in hastily released analogue 486 - first with a substantial increase in frequency, which is more or less close to "Pentiumu."

In 1995, the company has finally been released a decent rival processors from Intel and AMD - 6x86. The truth, and the drum of honey spoon tar found in the form of weak mathematical component processor (a math coprocessor because originally the main focus of Cyrix!). However, this has not stopped 6x86 did take its place under the sun - and again thanks to low cost processor. Next in line was the Cyrix MediaGX processor with integrated support for audio, video and other things, required the user. For his performance in 1996 was small, but attractive price allowed computer manufacturers to collect on its basis the whole series of budget PCs.

In 1997 came processor MII - analog Pentium II. By that time, technology Cyrix rose to a level that she even brought action against Intel for what is taken advantage of Pentium II processors in its ideas. However, the conflict was resolved by licensing technology companies each other. In the same year, Cyrix had decided to merge with National Semiconductor. Thus from Cyrix, always enjoyed facilities of other companies (Texas Instruments, IBM and others) for the production of its processors, has access to powerful industrial lines of National Semiconductor.

However, these lines Cyrix so, in fact, and not useful. Combined the new company's board considered ways to further competition with the best solutions to Intel and AMD too complicated, and because National Semiconductor with Cyrix focused on the production of cheap low processors like MediaGX. As history has shown, this proved wrong decision: processors from Intel and AMD soon began rapidly deshevet (not least because of the need to compete with cheap processors Cyrix), but thanks to higher productivity, they enjoyed greater popularity than morally outdated MediaGX. Swan song for Cyrix MII became processor-433, runs at 300 MHz. Because of the names of his constantly compared with 433 - Mhz processors competitors, and compare it was certainly not in favor brainchild Cyrix.

The failures of companies led the skills, and it was really valuable, leave a sinking rapidly became Cyrix. When Cyrix was resold company VIA, the new processors under the brand became developed by Centaur Technology. However, VIA said that developed in 2006 processor with 0.9 Watts power consumption based on developments Cyrix, which, as you can see, is still alive.

Cyrix, being a good example of how successful the company may become a victim of bad strategic marketing, nevertheless, took his place in the history of microprocessors as a company able to make them cheaper, for which she is still grateful to many millions of users.