NexGen Microsystems Inc, Milpitas, California this week launches the first full third party answer to Intel Corp’s Pentium with its Nx586 P100 100MHz RISC-based iAPX-86-compatible part, which is being fabricated by IBM Corp. The NexGen chips exclude the maths co-processor and are not Pentium pin-compatible, but developers can use a Baby AT form factor board design available free from NexGen. The Nx586 93MHz P100 is $777 in quantities of 10,000 or more, against $964 for Pentiums for 1,000-up. There are 84MHz, 75MHz and 70MHz versions, the last costint $404. Compaq Computer Corp holds a 5% stake in NexGen but has not said it will use the chip; it is said to be evaluating it alongside Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA. NexGen is planning to offer the chip with a separate maths co-processor mounted alongside in a multi-chip module in the first half of next year. Microsoft Corp has certified the chips as Windows-compatible, NexGen says without that, they would be unsalable. Some 22 smaller companies are said to have committed to use the NexGen chip.
