New Powerful, Low-Cost MIPS Microprocessor Accelerates Advanced Desktop 3D
Graphics

New R5000 RISC Processor Powers A New Generation of Affordable Personal
Workstations and Network Servers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (January 8, 1996) -- MIPS Technologies, Inc. today
introduced the R5000 MIPS RISC microprocessor, a powerful, low-cost,
64-bit dual-issue superscalar microprocessor which brings enhanced
floating-point computing capabilities and scalable performance to personal
workstations and low-cost servers. The 200 MHz R5000 microprocessor is
estimated to deliver 5.5 SPECint95 and 5.5 SPECfp95, in optimal system
configurations, allowing UNIX and Windows NT operating system users to run
interactive real-time 3D visualization applications without the cost of
dedicated geometry processing hardware.

"To serve computing's ever changing demands, microprocessors must take the
most complex data and display it in a way that is visually compelling and
interactive," said Ron Bernal, president of MIPS Technologies. "Because of
our close partnership with Silicon Graphics, MIPS has applied its intimate
understanding of visual computing to the R5000 microprocessor. Through its
optimized performance, the R5000 processor will efficiently power diverse
desktop and multiprocessing server applications such as database
visualization, Internet content creation, CAD and other critical
applications."

Unprecedented 3D Graphics

The R5000 microprocessor accelerates single-precision floating-point
operations used in 2D and 3D graphics calculations, and is capable of
achieving a peak of 400 million floating-point operations per second
(MFLOPS). The R5000 design will provide a high level of 3D geometry
processing for applications such as OpenGL and Virtual Reality Modeling
Language (VRML) for the World Wide Web. Studies show that the R5000
architecture, with the MIPS IV instruction set and superscalar pipeline,
can execute geometry processing routines 2.3 times faster than Intel's 200
MHz Pentium Pro and over seven times faster than the 133 MHz Pentium
processor.

New Features

The R5000 microprocessor, fully binary compatible with existing MIPS
software, is based on the MIPS IV instruction set, which is also
implemented in the R8000 and R10000. The R5000 has a two-way superscalar
pipeline with high-speed, low latency execution units that enable high
performance in a small low-cost chip. The ALU units are heavily pipelined
for high throughput of floating-point instructions. For example, the R5000
can issue one new multiply-add (MADD) instruction every cycle. MADD
instructions are used intensively in geometry processing for complex
interactive 3D modeling.

The R5000 microprocessor includes large on-chip 32kB instruction and data
primary caches and integrates on-chip support for an external secondary
cache of up to 2MB. Both primary caches are two-way set associative which
improves performance. Future products in the R5000 family will support
multiprocessing which will enable low cost servers with up to four
microprocessors.

R5000 Progression

Additional products in the R5000 family include a 250 MHz R5000 later in
1996, estimated at 6.8 SPECint95 and 6.8 SPECfp95. Early in 1997 the
R5000A is planned to offer even higher performance and additional
features.

Price and Availability

Because of its small die size, between 80 and 100 square millimeters
(depending on the vendor), the R5000 processor is expected to be sold at a
low cost and shipping in quantity. The R5000 will be available in both Pin
Grid Array (PGA) and Ball Grid Array (BGA) packaging. The R5000 will be
manufactured by Integrated Device Technology, NEC Corporation and NKK
Corporation. (Specific pricing and availability for the R5000
microprocessor is available from IDT, NEC and NKK.)

Insight From Partners

"The R5000 is the newest addition to IDT's family of high-performance
MIPS-compatible microprocessors. It will allow IDT's customers to take
advantage of the raw performance of the processor in compute- intensive as
well as graphics-intensive applications," said Len Perham, President and
chief executive officer of Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Like all of
the other IDT microprocessors, the R5000 offers the highest performance at
a very attractive price point."

"NEC will manufacture its version of the R5000, the VR5000, with
0.35-micron drawn (0.27 effective) process technology, providing a
compact, low-cost device for high-performance computer systems and
embedded applications," said Ichiro Fujitaka, vice president of NEC
Electronics Inc. "We will also offer a core logic chip set for both
computer systems and embedded designers. By offering both the processor
and core logic, NEC will offer 'one-stop shopping' to help designers meet
time-to-market pressures. Future plans call for NEC to migrate the VR5000
to 0.25 micron and offer 'system- on-a-chip' derivatives, assuring a
robust growth path for developers."

Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT) designs, manufactures and markets
high-speed CMOS VLSI integrated circuits for a range of growth markets,
including desktop computer, workstation/server, data communications and
office automation. IDT offers products in four key areas: high- speed
SRAMS, RISC microprocessors, specialty memories and high-performance
logic. The company's product lines are synergistic, and provide solutions
that optimize the cost and performance of microprocessor-based systems.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., IDT employs approximately 2, 850
people worldwide.

NEC Corporation (NIPNY) and its affiliates worldwide are a $43 billion
global leader whose 148,000 employees are dedicated to the development,
manufacture and marketing of leading-edge computer, communication and
semiconductor products and services.

NEC Electronics Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is an
affiliate of NEC Corporation. The company manufactures and markets an
extensive line of electronic products including ASICs, microprocessors and
microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), memories and
components. The company operates a 676,000 square-foot manufacturing
facility in Roseville, Calif.

MIPS Technologies, Inc. designs and supplies the world's most advanced RISC
microprocessor technology. The company tests, certifies and licenses its
processor technology to its semiconductor partners, which provide
processors for the computer system, consumer and embedded control markets.
MIPS microprocessors power systems from a number ofcomputer industry
leaders. MIPS RISC architecture components are available from Integrated
Device Technology, Inc., LSI Logic Corporation, NEC Corporation, NKK
Corporation, Siemens AG, Toshiba Corporation and Philips. MIPS
Technologies, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif.
 
 =========================================================
 From the 'New Product News' Electronic News Service on...
 AOL (Keyword = New Products) and Delphi (GO COMP PROD)
 =========================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 company/author mentioned. For additional details, please
 contact them directly at the address/phone# indicated.
 Trademarks are the property of their respective owners!
 =========================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  USA
 Email:   rbakerpc@delphi.com   --or--   rbakerpc@aol.com
 =========================================================
