FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Bill
Snyder, IDT Chief Financial Officer (408) 492-8481
Brian
Boisseree, IDT Director of Investor Relations (408) 654-6616
IDT Investor Relations Hotline (408)
654-6420
Centaur Technology:
Jamal Haider /408.492.8623
Fleishman-Hillard:
Andy Lark/214.665.1312
Jennifer Hindert/214.665.1318
CENTAUR TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES IDT-C6™ MICROPROCESSOR
Launches Smallest PentiumTM-Class Processor; Delivers Optimum Combination
Of Price/Performance/Power To Low-Cost Desktop and Mobile PC Manufacturers
Press
Contacts
Financial Contacts
BURLINGAME, California, PC TECH FORUM
(May 20, 1997)-Stealth start-up Centaur Technology, Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT) (NASDAQ: IDTI),
today announced at PC Tech Forum the IDT-C6 processor, a Pentium-class
x86 microprocessor designed for the low-cost desktop and mobile personal
computer (PC) market.
The IDT-C6 processor is a 5.4-million
transistor device that will be manufactured using 0.35 micron, 4-layer-metal
CMOS technology. At only 88mm2 in size, the IDT-C6 processor
is between 40 and 50 percent smaller than comparable Pentium-class processors.
The IDT-C6 chip's small die size and low power was achieved by simplifying
the architecture and eliminating or reducing complex logic found in
other processors. The breakthrough will provide Pentium-class performance
at lower power and price levels.
"We have achieved our goal of delivering
the best performance per watt and per dollar," said Glenn Henry, president
of Centaur Technology. "The IDT-C6 microprocessor is smaller, as competitive
in performance and more energy efficient than offerings from others
in this category. Our aggressively small die size makes it possible
for the IDT-C6 processor to bring increased value to manufacturers of
sub-$1500 PCs, an underserved sector of the marketplace and, in the
process, redefine the price/performance equation."
The IDT-C6 processor was designed by
Centaur Technology and will be manufactured at IDT's state-of-the-art
facilities in Hillsboro, Oregon and San Jose, California. It is the
first of a series of microprocessors to emerge from Centaur's design
facility in Austin, Texas.
"We're proud of the Centaur team's achievement,"
said Len Perham, IDT's president and chief executive officer. "The combination
of small die size coupled with a simplified CMOS process will allow
IDT to manufacture the IDT-C6 chips very efficiently and at a low cost."
The new IDT-C6 processor will include
MMX™-compatible instructions and operate at speeds up to 200 MHz.
The IDT-C6 chip's performance is comparable to Pentium-class processors
based on benchmarks such as Business Winstone™ 97 running on Microsoft™
Windows™95.
The processors' Socket 7 hardware compatibility
will enable PC manufacturers to take advantage of existing system designs
and infrastructure, minimize system redesign and development costs and
speed time to market for PC manufacturers. "Our goal is to extend the
life of the Socket 7 infrastructure by delivering industry leading price
performance and working closely with chipset and BIOS vendors," added
Henry.
Based on testing by Centaur, the processor
executes all leading operating systems, including Windows™ 95,
Windows™ NT™, Windows™ 3.x, MS-DOS™, Novell™
NetWare™, OS/2 Warp™, Unix™ and Solaris™, as well
as other software packages and the latest MMX-enabled multimedia applications.
External testing and validation is currently in process.
"The majority of the PC market for the
next 12 months will continue to be served by Pentium-class processors,"
said Michael Slater of Microprocessor Report. "The existing vendors
are focused on moving up the performance and price curve, leaving an
opening for a new vendor like Centaur to serve the low-cost market where
much of the growth is occurring."
On May 28, IDT will participate in the
Lehman Brother's High Technology Exposition in New York City, at which
time the IDT-C6 processor will be exhibited and demonstrated.
In addition, Centaur will be displaying
the IDT-C6 processor at the Computex show in Taipei, Taiwan starting
on June 3. Demonstrations of the microprocessor will take place from
June 3 - 7 at IDT's booth display at the trade show.
Engineering samples of the IDT-C6 processor
will be available to target customers at Computex. Centaur Technology
expects the chip to be available for shipment starting in third quarter
1997, at which time pricing will be announced. The IDT-C6 processor
will be manufactured and sold through IDT.
Centaur Technology, an Austin, Texas-based
microprocessor design and development company, was founded in 1995 by
Glenn Henry, previously of IBM, Dell Computer and MIPS. More information
on the company can be found at http://www.centtech.com.
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. designs,
manufactures, and markets high-performance integrated circuits and modules
used in products serving its rapidly growing targeted market segments:
communications equipment, distributed computing systems, personal computers
and office automation equipment. IDT enhances its customers' ability
to optimize the cost and performance of their microprocessor-based systems
by providing innovative solutions based on four product areas: communications
products, including industry-leading FIFO memories, multi-port memories,
and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) products; high-speed SRAMs and
Fusion Memory™; RISC microprocessors; and high-performance logic.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.,
IDT employs approximately 4,400 people worldwide. More information on
IDT and its products can be found at http://www.idt.com,
and fax-on-demand services, by calling 1-800-9-IDT-FAX. Forward-looking
statements in this release involve a number of risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to, product demand, pricing, changing economic
conditions, timely development and market acceptance of new products,
and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange
Commission Filings. Actual results may differ materially from the Company's
projections. IDT-C6 and Fusion Memory are trademarks
of Integrated Device Technology, Inc.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel; MMX is a trademark of Intel.
Windows 95, Windows NT(, Windows 3.x, MS-DOS are trademarks of Microsoft
Corp.
NetWare is a trademark of Novell Corp.
OS/2 Warp is a trademark of IBM, Inc.
Unix is a trademark of AT & T
Solaris is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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