A few more details have emerged on NEC Corp’s new V80 answer to Intel Corp’s unannounced 80486. NEC rates the part at 16.5 MIPS, 2.5 times the V70, 13.1 MIPS doing benchmarks using the Gibson Mix. The part implements a seven-stage pipeline and includes 1Kb instruction and 1Kb data caches on chip. It includes branch prediction, a virtual memory manager, and address and data bus error detection for use in multiprocessor systems. But in the integration stakes it falls behind the 80486 and the Motorola 68040 in squeezing a mere 930,000 transistors on the double aluminium layer 0.8 micron CMOS chip. The 33MHz version, to which the performance data attaches, costs $1,200 in sample quantities, the 25MHz version is $960, and a 45MHz, 22.5 MIPS version is promised for delivery in 1990. The V80 is understood to be upwards-compatible with the 8086 and 8088, but is definitely not compatible with the 80286 and 80386.
