Win 95 Roars with Pentium-Class PCs

Intel's relentless drive to make the Pentium the PC standard for running mixed 16-/32-bit software continues, but its competitors aren't far behind

Dave Andrews and Dave Rowell

New processors from Intel, Cyrix, and NexGen will provide the best solutions for running 16-bit Windows and mixed 16-/32-bit Windows 95 applications compared to Intel's more expensive Pentium Pro. Although the Pentium Pro ushers in new levels of x86 computing power when running pure 32-bit Windows NT applications (see the article "Pentium Pro Makes NT Fly" ), a variety of tests confirm that Intel's top Pentium (running at 166 MHz) provides equal or better performance at a lower price when running Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 applications.

Additionally, tests on preliminary reference computers with the new 6x86 processor from Cyrix (Richardson, TX) indicate that the 6x86 will compete well against Intel's Pentiums. The first 150- and 166-MHz Pen tium-based PCs will be available early this year. Cyrix expects the first 6x86 processors to ship in this quarter.

Intel's latest Pentiums will be priced aggressively. Traditionally, Intel introduces its highest-powered chips in a family at the $900 to $1000 price range. But the 150- and 166-MHz Pentiums will sell for $547 and $749 each in quantities of 1000.

Cyrix will price its 6x86 competitively as well. The company had not announced final pricing for the 120-MHz version of the chip at press time, but the 100-MHz 6x86 will sell for $540 each in quantities of 1000. Also, NexGen (Milpitas, CA), another Intel competitor, has released new versions of its Nx586 processor. NexGen's P120 ($303 each) and P133 ($447 each) processors, which a re clocked at 120 and 133 MHz respectively, should compete with midrange Pentiums.

When running pure 32-bit software, the Pentium Pro is still the king in the x86 world. However, its poorer performance when running a mixture of 16- and 32-bit software means that Intel's best processor for running 16-bit and mixed 16-/32-bit software is the Pentium, and that chip will soon have stronger competition. To protect its market share, Intel is pricing the Pentium aggressively, and Intel's competitors must react by pricing their chips aggressively, too. That means higher-powered PCs at lower prices, and that's good news for PC users everywhere.

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Relentless Pentium Improvement

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A variety of CPU/FPU benchmarks and applications benchmarks show that the Pentium Pro running at 150 MHz easily beats the fastest Pentium, but only when running pure 32-bit software.

The 166-MHz Pentium PC from Dell (with 512 KB of pipelined burst secondary cache memory, 64 MB of extended data out [EDO] RAM, a 1-GB Quantum Fireball EIDE hard drive, and a 4-MB Number Nine Imagine 128 graphics card) provides about the same level of performance when running Windows 95 applications and beats the more expensive Pentium Pro system when running Windows 3.1 applications.

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Cyrix's 6x86 Weighs In

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Preliminary benchmarks run on two Cyrix 6x86 reference systems indicate that the chip should compete well with midrange and high-end Pentiums. Cyrix said it optimized the chip to perform well running Windows applications, which tests confirm. The 6x86 offers weak FPU performance, but that won't hurt most Windows applications.

The Cyrix systems included the Quantum Fireball hard drive, 32 MB of EDO RAM, 256 KB of secondary synchronous pipelined burst cache memory, and a Stealth 3200 graphics card.