K5 > AMDK5PR100ABQ

Modified: March 13, 2005, 11:48 am

Manufacturer:	AMD
Model:	AMD-K5 PR100
Speed:	100Mhz
Type:	K5
Data Code:	9634
Introduced:	1994
Transistors:	4.3 Million
Package:	296SCPGA
Process:	0.35 Micron
Architecture:	32 bit x86 w/ FPU ontop of RISC
Used in:	Computers
Description:	Of all the x86 processors announced, AMD's is the most architecturally interesting, diverging radically from the approach taken by Pentium's designers. At its heart, the K5 isn't an Intel- compatible chip at all - it's a RISC processor somewhat akin to AMD's superscalar AM29000 chips. However the RISC core and its instruction set (called ROPs - pronounced ar-ops)is hidden from the end user. Instead, x86 instructions are converted into these RISC operations which are then handled by six parallel execution units: one floating point unit, two integer units, two load/store units and a branch unit. It is an approach similar to NexGen's Nx586, however AMD has included some extra technology at the beginning of the translation process, which the company claims will allow up to four x86 instructions to be despatched concurrently. This is pushing it a bit, since only the very simplest x86 instructions will map directly onto an ROP. "Simplest" in this case, equates to instructions such as register-to-register adds. Most operations take two or three. The K5 was Pentium Rated (PR) to how fast of a Pentium it was equivalent to. Earlier chips, like this one, did not have the heatslug.