Well, in the chipset market VIA is doing just great, no doubt. However, the situation in the CPU market is not that brilliant unfortunately. Nevertheless, VIA isn?t going to give up the idea of winning the promised 7% of the CPU market next year. Here are some details on the company?s plans for the next year:
Samuel 2 (Winchip C5B core) with 64KB L2 cache will be launched in the end of the year or in the beginning of the next year at the latest. It will be manufactured with 0.15 micron 7-layer aluminum interconnect technology. The die size will make 52sq.mm. This CPU will require 1.5V of power and will support 600-733MHz clock frequency.
New CPU based on Winchip C5C core will come out in the end of Q1 2001. it will be made with 0.15/0.13 7-layer micron technology (aluminum interconnect). The technical details include: 64KB L2 cache, 52sq.mm die, 1.2V Vcore and 667-850MHz working frequencies.
C5B "light" version (without L2 cache) and with a smaller die (44sq.mm) is very likely to be produced in late Q2 2001. It will be also made with 0.15 micron 7-layer aluminum interconnect technology. The required Vcore will be 1.5V. The frequencies supported aren?t disclosed yet.
New CPU on Winchip C5E core is also supposed to appear in late Q3 2001. This newcomer will be manufactured with 0.13 micron 7-layer copper interconnect technology and will feature a 52sq.mm die and 128(?)KB L2 cache. The supported Vcore will equal 1.2V. No info on the working frequencies is available, unfortunately.
Ezra CPU is due in Q4 2001. It will be made with 0.13 micron 8-layer copper interconnect technology. The processor will have 75sq/mm die, 128KB L2 cache (64KB for data and 64KB for instructions). The voltage supported will make 1.2V. The CPU will work at 1.2GHz and up.
Well, what conclusions can we make? The plans look really impressive. However, you should keep in mind that they mostly concern the Low-End and extra Low-End market segment as well as a part of the mobile market. Next year we will see if VIA manages to occupy the promised 7% of the processor market or not. In fact, new products? success depends not only on the clever marketing policy the company will pursue, but also on the performance of the new pieces. We hope VIA will overcome the tendency to CPU performance worsening, which has been so discouraging recently (remember our Cyrix III Joshua investigation and Cyrix III Winchip C5A tests).
Samuel 2 (Winchip C5B core) with 64KB L2 cache will be launched in the end of the year or in the beginning of the next year at the latest. It will be manufactured with 0.15 micron 7-layer aluminum interconnect technology. The die size will make 52sq.mm. This CPU will require 1.5V of power and will support 600-733MHz clock frequency.
New CPU based on Winchip C5C core will come out in the end of Q1 2001. it will be made with 0.15/0.13 7-layer micron technology (aluminum interconnect). The technical details include: 64KB L2 cache, 52sq.mm die, 1.2V Vcore and 667-850MHz working frequencies.
C5B "light" version (without L2 cache) and with a smaller die (44sq.mm) is very likely to be produced in late Q2 2001. It will be also made with 0.15 micron 7-layer aluminum interconnect technology. The required Vcore will be 1.5V. The frequencies supported aren?t disclosed yet.
New CPU on Winchip C5E core is also supposed to appear in late Q3 2001. This newcomer will be manufactured with 0.13 micron 7-layer copper interconnect technology and will feature a 52sq.mm die and 128(?)KB L2 cache. The supported Vcore will equal 1.2V. No info on the working frequencies is available, unfortunately.
Ezra CPU is due in Q4 2001. It will be made with 0.13 micron 8-layer copper interconnect technology. The processor will have 75sq/mm die, 128KB L2 cache (64KB for data and 64KB for instructions). The voltage supported will make 1.2V. The CPU will work at 1.2GHz and up.
Well, what conclusions can we make? The plans look really impressive. However, you should keep in mind that they mostly concern the Low-End and extra Low-End market segment as well as a part of the mobile market. Next year we will see if VIA manages to occupy the promised 7% of the processor market or not. In fact, new products? success depends not only on the clever marketing policy the company will pursue, but also on the performance of the new pieces. We hope VIA will overcome the tendency to CPU performance worsening, which has been so discouraging recently (remember our Cyrix III Joshua investigation and Cyrix III Winchip C5A tests).
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