Cyrix entered the fifth generation processor market with the 6x86 processor, formerly projected as the M1. As a successful and cheaper (often less than half the cost) alternative to the Intel Pentium, it is pin- and voltage- compatible with it. Cyrix gave it the 6x86 name in reference to some of its more advanced features, which it calls "sixth generation". In reality, the processor is comparable in power and architecture to the fifth-generation Pentium.
The 6x86 is extensively RISC influenced with such design features as register renaming, out-of-oreder execution and the like. The Cyrix 6x86 was a faster and better design then the Intel Pentium. Its only weakness was its FPU which was on the slow side.
As a fabless company Cyrix had other companies produce their chips, often part of the agreement was that these foundries could sell their own version of the chip. (such as IBM and ST)
CISC, In-/Out-of-order and Dual Pipelined Execution Pipeline Depth: 1 (Shared) plus 2x 4+2 In-/Out-of-order (Dual Pipeline) Stages, 4x FP plus 4x FP Store Queue Instruction Decoder: 2x IA-32/Cycle Execution Units: 2x Integer, Non-pipelined FPU Execution Speed: Up to 2x IA-32/Cycle ----------------------------------------- The Cyrix design was used by: IBM ST Micro National Semiconductor -------------------------- Actual Speed: 150 Bus Speed: 75 Multiplier: 2 Fab'd By: IBM ---------------------------- The 'L' version is a low voltage part with lower power requirements.