Wireless Local Area Network

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Permanently fixed.
  2. Hard to install into an existing building.
  3. Cables can be damaged.

 

 

- This can cause a cluttered look to a work area.

- If hidden from view repairs can be expansive.

 

 

- No wires no clutter.

- No problem.

- Moveable workstations (i.e. Laptops, sales).

- Easy to install into an existing building.

 

 

- Spread Spectrum.

- Narrow Band High Frequency.

- Infra red.

 

 

It was developed in the 1950’s by the US military.

Secure and reliable it uses "spreading code" technology to give increased security. Spread Spectrum can cover a distance of 100ft to 800ft and can pass through light density materials.

 

 

It has a range of 40ft to 130ft.

 

 

In its basic form as the remote control for the TV.

This is a limiting network as direct line of sight is need, it will not go through solid objects, or large distances.

It is very useful as a small data downloader to portable devices.

A range of 30ft to 80ft can be achieved; a frequency of 1THz is used.

 

 

 

 

 

It is not good as an office network but is useful in applications where a small group of portable computers meet and exchange small files and then go there separate ways.

 

 

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Microprocessors

 

 

AMD and Cyrix Processor's

 

 

By Eóin Moloney

E2c

November 99

 

A short History of the Modern PC

To understand the market in which AMD and Cyrix operate we must first take a look at the modern PC.

 

The PC as we know it today was first introduced to the market nearly 20 years ago in 1981 by the largest name in computing at the time IBM (International Business Machines).

IBM envisioned a computer for the mass market and as a small division of the main company; they set up Entry Systems Division. They located this new subsidiary company in Boca Raton, Florida. This site was chosen, as it had no connection with IBM who wanted this company to operate independently and produce their first PC.

 

The 12 engineers and designers who were giving the job of making the project work mostly came straight from the DataMaster project. DataMaster was a small office computer system IBM developed in 1980 and is largely seen as the predecessor to the IBM PC.

The 12 people looked at the market at the time and came up with the basic computer design by using off the shelf components; this would have drastic consequences later.

A small company called Microsoft developed their operating system.

The majority of components were copied from the DataMaster as existing expansion cards could easily be redesigned to work on the PC, as could other components.

DataMaster used an Intel processor, which was found to be compatible with the PC so the PC had an Intel inside.

Entry Systems Division (IBM) made one important input into the PC the BIOS.

 

IBM's off the shelf approach to the PC left it open to imitators as you could get hold of all the components and assembly the computer yourself. But there was one problem the BIOS was proprietary to IBM. This was over come in great style by a company called

Phoenix Software. Their legal way around IBM's copyright of the BIOS was to reverse engineer (duplicate but not copy) the software. To do this they got two teams of software engineers (a) and (b). One of which (a) consisted only of people who hand no connection in any way with IBM nor knew of the BIOS code. The other team (b) wrote a complicated description of the BIOS and what it did and gave this to team (a) who wrote a similar BIOS code which performed the same functions as IBM's but was not a copy and there for not breaking Copyright laws.

Now the last component was in place and duplicates of IBM's PC (which became known as IBM compatible or IBM clones) were being built by such companies Compaq.

 

In 1990 IBM lost their hold on the development of the PC to the two companies which their PC helped become such big names in the business, Microsoft and Intel.

Microsoft's Windows operating system is the most dominating o/s on the PC and Intel have a 90% hold on all the motherboards and processor's in today's PC market.

This lead to the term "Wintel" indicating the dominance of the two companies and leaded to the end of the term "IBM compatible".

 

 

 

Advanced Micro Devices

 

 

 

 

Advanced Micro Devices

AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets. AMD produces processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices, and products for communications and networking applications.

As the company developed, product lines have expanded, and the individual successes of their products have grown.

Since 1969, AMD has grown from a fledgling start-up, headquartered in the living room of one of its founders, to a global corporation with annual revenues of $2.4 billion.

In 1969 AMD were building a successful semiconductor company to benefit the manufacturers of electronic equipment in the computation, communication and instrumentation markets.

Although the company was initially headquartered in the living room of one of the co-founders, it soon moved to two rooms in the back of a rugcutting company in Santa Clara.

AMD raised the money it needed to begin manufacturing products by late 1969.

During the companies first years, the vast majority of its products were alternate-source devices; products obtained from other companies that were then redesigned for greater speed and efficiency. To give the products even more of a selling edge, the company instituted a guarantee of quality unprecedented in the industry, all products would be made and tested to highest standard regardless of who the customer was and at no extra cost.

By the end of AMD's fifth year, there were nearly 1,500 employees making over 200 different products, many of them proprietary-and bringing in nearly $26.5 million in annual sales.

AMD's second five years represented an average growth rate of over 60 percent.

On its fifth anniversary, a tremendous facilities expansion took place

The early 1980s represented the company's largest investment into research and development. By 1981, the company had more than doubled its sales over 1979. Plants and facilities were expanded. New production facilities were built. AMD had quickly become a major contender in the world semiconductor marketplace.

AMD celebrated its 15th year with one of the best sales years in company history.

But 1986, tides of change had swept the industry. Japanese semiconductor makers came to dominate the memory markets, up until now a mainstay for AMD, and a fierce downturn had taken hold of the computer market, limiting demand for chips in general. AMD began looking for new ways to compete in an increasingly difficult environment.

By 1989, the management was talking about transformation, changing the entire company to compete in new markets. AMD began building its submicron capability with the Submicron Development Centre.

 

 

For the transforming AMD, the microprocessor market looked like an attractive market to enter. Making processor’s which were compatible with IBM computers, and high-performance memories could prove profitable.

By 1994, AMD had put to work every resource it had to achieve those goals. Today, AMD is either in first or second place in every market it serves, including the PC processor market.

AMD has overcome legal obstacles to produce its own versions of the wildly popular 386 and 486 microprocessors. The company enjoyed record sales and record operation income. And in 1994 the K5 was released to combat the Intel 486 DX, 1997 saw AMD introduce the AMD-K6® processor. 1999 AMD released the AMD Athlon processor (formerly code-named K7).

The exploding demand for mobile computing and telecommunications devices, two markets for which AMD has spent years-developing products, will likely fuel AMD’s growth through the rest of the century. Key to the company's success will be building close relationships with its customers, and continuing to develop the manufacturing and process technologies necessary to produce future-generation submicron devices.

FLASHBACK (The list below was provided by AMD.)

1969--AMD established
1970--AMD ends its first year with 53 employees and 18 products, but still no sales.
1970--First proprietary product introduced, the Am2501.
1972--AMD goes public, issuing 525,000 shares at $15 a share.
1973--First overseas manufacturing base in Penang, Malaysia, in volume production.
1973--Profit sharing is implemented.
1974--Recession causes AMD to implement 44-hour workweek for professional personnel.
1975--AMD enters the RAM market with the AM9102.
1975--AMD's product line includes the 8080A standard processor and the AM2900 family.
1976--AMD and Intel sign patent cross-license agreement.
1977--Siemens and AMD establish Advanced Micro Devices.
1978--The company reaches major sales milestone: $100 million annualised run rate.
1979--Company shares listed on New York Stock Exchange.
1981--AMD chips fly aboard Columbia Space Shuttle.
1981--AMD and Intel renew and expand their original cross-licensing agreement.
1982--AMD and Intel sign technology exchange agreement centring on the iAPX86 family of microprocessors and peripherals.
1983--AMD introduces INT.STD.1000, the highest quality standard in the industry.
1984--AMD is listed in "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America" book.
1985--AMD makes list of Fortune 500 for first time.
1985--AMD launches the Liberty Chip campaign.
1986--The 29300 family 0f 32-bit chips is introduced.
1986--AMD introduces the industry's first 1-million-bit EPROM.
1986--Weakened by the long-running recession, AMD announces its first workforce restructure in over a decade.
1987--AMD establishes a CMOS technology with Sony.
1987--AMD initiates arbitration action against Intel.
1987--AMD and Monolithic Memories Inc. agree to merge.
1988--SDC groundbreaking.
1989--AMD establishes office of the chief executive, consisting of top three company executives.
1990--Silicon starts through the SDC.
1991--AMD introduces the AM386 microprocessor family, breaking the Intel monopoly.
1991--AMD ships its millionth Am386.
1992--Five-year arbitration with Intel ends, with AMD awarded full rights to make and sell the entire Am386® family of microprocessors.
1993--AMD and Fujitsu establish joint venture to produce flash memories.
1993--First members of the Am486® microprocessor family are introduced.
1993--Plans for the AMD-K5 project are announced.
1994--Compaq Computer Corp. and AMD form long-term alliance under which Am486 microprocessors will power Compaq computers.
1994--Digital Equipment Corp. becomes foundry for Am486 microprocessors.
1994--Federal court jury confirms AMD's right to Intel microcode in 287 math coprocessor trial.
1996--AMD acquires NexGen.
1997--AMD introduces AMD-K6® processor.
1998--AMD and Motorola announce long alliance to develop copper interconnect technology and flash memory products.
1999--AMD introduces AMD Athlon™ processor, the world's first seventh-generation processor for Microsoft Windows® computing.

Processor History

In 1991 AMD entered the Intel compatible processor market with its AM386 and within one year had sold a million processors. The AM386 was AMD’s first Intel based processor and was the subject of a 5-year legal battle with Intel. The outcome of this legal battle was that AMD won the right to produce and sell their AM386 alongside the Intel produced and sold 80386.

Two years later the AM486 entered the market they were designed to fit into the existing design of the sockets (1-3) Intel had designed for their 80486 processor. The fastest 486 processor in the world today is the AMD Am5x86-P75 this is a 486 chip which is as fast the Pentium 75 not all motherboards support the Am5x86-P75 but for those that do it makes the most cost effect upgrade offer.

In 1993 Intel launched there most high profile processor yet, the Intel Pentium.

AMD were not far behind late in ’93 they announced the K5, this processor was to compete with Intel on cost and performance. It became available as the PR75, PR90, PR100, PR120, PR133, and the PR166. The K5 was sold under the short-lived PR rating system which Cyrix and AMD came up with. This rating system was misleading to say the least if you bought an AMD K5 PR-166 you would expect for it to operate at 166 MHz but it only operates at 116.7MHz. However when the K5 was phased out AMD stopped using this misleading naming system.

In 1996 AMD bought a company called NexGen. This company had designed a P5 compatible 6th generation processor called Nx686. AMD bought them before it became released and renamed it the K6. The K6 was designed to fit into Socket 7 which was a 5th generation processor socket so it cannot quit perform as a true P6 because the Socket 7 form factor was limiting, but due to its low cost it became popular in the low cost market and the home assembler. Some of is best features were its 64kb of L1 cache, MMX support and it’s Socket 7 design.

There were two Major improvements to the K6 and they were The K6-2 and The K6-iii

The K6-2 added Higher Clock speeds, 100MHz Super Socket 7 support and 3D Now.

The K6-iii added even higher clock speeds (up to 500MHz) and 256kb L2 on-die cache.

(Note Super Socket was joint design by AMD and Cyrix and has a motherboard speed of 100MHz)

 

 

 

The next logical step for AMD was not to stick to Intel compatible designs, which slowed down their designing process to such and extent that Intel processors were all ways faster.

So in 1999 AMD designed their Slot A which was to compete with Intel’s Slot 1 and 2.

And the new AMD processor was designed to get the best out of this new slot.

In August 1999 AMD launched their Athlon processor it comes in speeds of 500 –700MHz and was the fastest processor on the market until November when Intel launched their Piii 700. This new processor indicates that AMD are not just good at the low price end of the market but are also good at the high end PC market.

 

 

 

 

 

Cyrix Corporation

 

 

 

 

 

Cyrix Corporation


Founded in 1988, Cyrix Corporation is a designer and supplier of high-performance x86 processors and systems to the personal computer industry.

Cyrix's is committed to build high-performance processors that run todays and tomorrows software faster. Their original architectural techniques redefine x86 performance standards.

Cyrix will continue to meet the needs of its worldwide customers by pushing the limits of high performance microprocessors.

The Cyrix commitment to compatibility is particularly visible in their careful attention to design and prototype testing. Twenty million processors and ten original architectures demonstrate Cyrix's expertise in creating fully compatible, advanced processor designs.

Cyrix's first product was a math coprocessor tailored to speed through math calculations. The success of the math coprocessor line enabled Cyrix to deliver its first x86 microprocessors in 1992 and then moved quickly to develop a full line of 486, 5x86, 6x86, MI, MediaGX and the M II processors.

In late 1996, Cyrix's low cost processor was featured in the Compaq Presario 2000 series, which placed a state of the art microprocessor in a sub-$1000 personal computer for the first time. Since then, the sub-$1000 PC segment has blossomed to more than 60% of today's personal computer market.

The M II processor, with performance up to the equivalence of competition running at 466 MHz, fits into the standard socket 7 platform and is used by major PC vendors such as Compaq and Packard Bell.

Cyrix's soon to be announced new processor, underscores Cyrix's continued commitment to millions of users who want superior performance and advanced features - as well as complete compatibility with their current and future x86 software.

Recently VIA and Cyrix have combined forces to create a portfolio of microprocessors and PC chipsets under one company. With about 1400 employees (80% engineers), 600 million revenue and IC design centres located in Texas, Arizona, California and Taiwan, the new company is geared towards meeting the demands of an increasingly competitive global PC market.

VIA Technologies, Inc is the world's leading PC core logic design house. VIA is widely recognised for its cost competitive chipsets. In addition VIA continually integrate the functionality of separate components into more complex, individual chips, providing cost savings to PC system integrators. And it is this dedication to both technological advancement and cost effectiveness that has put VIA at the forefront of the core logic industry.



Processor History

Cyrix processors were first made in 1992 as a maths co-processor for the Intel 80286.

In 1994 Cyrix developed an Intel 486 compatible processor. It was sold towards the end of the 486’s life as Intel were all ready pushing the Pentium on to the market. It sold mainly to the low-end market of cheap and cheerful PC’s for the home market and was by no means ground breaking.

 

Their attempt at the 5th generation processor market came with the Cyrix 5x86 again it was not ground breaking it sold to the low end market and faded out of existence 1996.

 

The 6x86 was Cyrix’s equivalent to the AMD K6 as the also use the Socket 7 form factor which has limitations and is really only found in the low end market. It was sold from 1996 to 1998 and got hold of the low-end market when Cyrix teamed up with Packard Bell to produce good quality low-end home PC’s.

They continued to develop processors for the Socket 7 and combined with AMD to bring about the Super Socket 7, which had an internal motherboard bus of 100MHz.

Packard Bell still uses the latest Cyrix Processors in their low-end systems.

The processors they designed for the new Super 7 were named MI and the M II.

They reached speeds of PR466 however this is not an actual representation of the speed, as it does not run at 466MHz. Both AMD and Cyrix used this naming system but as it was so misleading AMD have stopped using it since they brought out the K6. Cyrix is stilling using it so the 466 really only runs at around 400MHz.

 

 

MediaGX is Cyrix most ingenues processor they developed this processor as an imbedded processor for very low-cost almost disposable PC’s. It integrates sound, graphics, and memory control on to the processor, because of this a MediaGX system does not need a sound card or graphics card. This has many benefits, smaller motherboard size, low power consumption, windows compatible, same performance as equivalent Pentium. It is not socket 7 compatible and has to be soldered on to the motherboard so they are mostly sold with processor and motherboard already soldered and ready to connect.

 

This processor solution allows manufactures to design and build super slim notebooks and desktop PC’s. On board the whole motherboard processor solution you get on board Mpeg decoding, USB, LAN interface (RJ-45), and 56K modem.

It comes in 166MHz, 180MHz, 200MHz MMX, and 233MHz MMX as with all Cyrix processor they use the PR rating and so the above speeds are not operating speeds.

In 1998 Compaq announced it would be using the MMX enhanced versions of the MediaGX in its Presario range of Notebooks.

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Bibliography

 

 

Book Number 1:

Upgrading and repairing PC’s eleventh edition

Author:

Mueller, Scot

ISBN:

0-7897-1903-7

 

 

Web site Number 1:

www.amd.com

Company:

Advanced Micro Devices

 

 

Web site Number 2:

www.cyrix.com

Company:

Cyrix Corporation

 

Web site Number 3:

www.cpu-central.com

Company:

CPU Central

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