The Microprocessor Report says Weitek is rumoured to be working on a new Sparc processor that would extend the chip-level upgrade concept to workstations. By putting a faster CPU core and some on-chip cache in the same package as the processors used in Sun’s Sparcstation 1 and Sparcstation 2 lines, Weitek could sell an upgrade chip to most owners of today’s Sparc-based systems. There’s no telling how significant an upgrade we’re talking about here but the idea sounds nifty and Weitek has to redeem its Sparc investment somehow. Sun is reportedly not in cahoots.
