Chips & Technologies Inc, San Jose, is ready with a building block chip set designed specifically for creating AT-bus lap-top computers using the 80286 and the 16-bit bus 80386SX. They will be launched in the week of September 19. The Leap – for lower power enhanced AT portable – set will be designed to minimise power consumption on battery-powered machines, and will include a Video Graphics Adaptor controller – VGA is the IBM standard for the PS/2 – for use with liquid crystal diode displays. The parts will be available for sampling in the fourth quarter, with volume set for first quarter 1989. The company also plans to announce soon a silicon-based BIOS and specialised software drivers to support key controller chips. Meantime Chips is now making volume shipments of the 25MHz version of its 386/AT ChipSet, and of its 10MHz to 20 MHz Chips/250 PS/2 compatible ChipSet for 80286-based Micro Channel boxes. All the sets add a page/interleaved memory system that enables OEM customers to use cheaper memory chips without sacrificing system performance, andimplement an asynchronous architecture so that the processor can run at its maximum clock speed.
