WinChip
General information
Launched
1997; 27 years ago (1997)
Discontinued
1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Marketed by
Designed by
CPUID code
0540h, 0541h, 0585h, 0587h, 058Ah, 0595h
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate
180 Mhz to 266 Mhz
FSB speeds
60 MT/s to 100 MT/s
Cache
L1 cache
64KiB (C6, W2, W2A and W2B)
128 KiB (W3)
L2 cache
Motherboard dependent
L3 cache
none
Architecture and classification
0.35 μm to 0.25 μm
Single, 4-stage, pipeline in-order execution
Physical specifications
Packages
Sockets
Products, models, variants
Core names
Brand name
History
Successor
The WinChip series was a low-power Socket 7-based x86 processor designed by Centaur Technology and marketed by its parent company IDT.
The design of the WinChip was quite different from other processors of the time. Instead of a large gate count and die area, IDT, using its experience from the RISC processor market, created a small and electrically efficient processor similar to the 80486, because of its single pipeline and in-order execution microarchitecture. It was of much simpler design than its Socket 7 competitors, such as AMD K5/K6, which were superscalar and based on dynamic translation to buffered micro-operations with advanced instruction reordering (out of order execution).
WinChip was, in general, designed to perform well with popular applications that did few floating point calculations, if any. This included operating systems of the time and the majority of software used in businesses. It was also designed to be a drop-in replacement for the more complex, and thus more expensive, processors it was competing with. This allowed IDT/Centaur to take advantage of an established system platform (Intel's Socket 7).
WinChip 2, an update of C6, retained the simple in-order execution pipeline of its predecessor, but added dual MMX/3DNow! processing units that could operate in superscalar execution.[1] This made it the only non-AMD CPU on Socket 7 to support 3DNow! instructions. WinChip 2A added fractional multipliers and adopted a 100 MHz front side bus to improve memory access and L2 cache performance.[2] It also adopted a performance rating nomenclature instead of reporting the real clock speed, similar to contemporary AMD and Cyrix processors.
Another revision, the WinChip 2B, was also planned. This featured a die shrink to 0.25 μm, but was only shipped in limited numbers.[3]
A third model, the WinChip 3, was planned as well. This was meant to receive a doubled L1 cache, but the W3 CPU never made it to market.[3]
Although the small die size and low power-usage made the processor notably inexpensive to manufacture, it never gained much market share. WinChip C6 was a competitor to the Intel Pentium and Pentium MMX, Cyrix 6x86, and AMD K5/K6. It performed adequately, but only in applications that used little floating point math. Its floating point performance was simply well below that of the Pentium and K6, being even slower than the Cyrix 6x86.[4]
The industry's move away from Socket 7 and the release of the Intel Celeron processor signalled the end of the WinChip. In 1999, the Centaur Technology division of IDT was sold to VIA. Although VIA branded the processors as "Cyrix", the company initially used technology similar to the WinChip in its Cyrix III line.[5]
Processor
model
Frequency
Release date
Part number(s)
Introduction price
WinChip 180
180 MHz
60MT/s
3
64KiB
9.4 W
3.45—3.6 V
13 October 1997
DS180GAEM
$90
WinChip 200
200 MHz
66 Mt/s
3
64 KiB
10.4 W
3.45—3.6 V
13 October 1997
DS200GAEM
$135
WinChip 225
225 MHz
75 MT/s
3
64 KiB
12.3 W
3.45—3.6 V
13 October 1997
PSME225GA
WinChip 240
240 MHz
60 MT/s
4
64 KiB
13.1 W
3.45—3.6 V
November 1997?
PSME240GA
Processor
model
Frequency
Release date
Part number(s)
Introduction price
WinChip 2-200
200 MHz
66MT/s
3
64KiB
8.8 W
3.45—3.6 V
3DEE200GSA
3DFF200GSA
WinChip 2-225
225 MHz
75 MT/s
3
64 KiB
10.0 W
3.45—3.6 V
3DEE225GSA
WinChip 2-240
240 MHz
60 MT/s
4
64 KiB
10.5 W
3.45—3.6 V
3DEE240GSA
WinChip 2-250
250 MHz
83 MT/s
3
64 KiB
10.9 W
3.45—3.6 V
?
Processor
model
Frequency
Release date
Part number(s)
Introduction price
WinChip 2A-200
200 MHz
66MT/s
3
64KiB
12.0 W
3.45—3.6 V
March 1999?
3DEE200GTA
WinChip 2A-233
233 MHz
66 MT/s
3.5
64 KiB
13.0 W
3.45—3.6 V
March 1999?
3DEE233GTA
WinChip 2A-266
233 MHz
100 MT/s
2.33
64 KiB
14.0 W
3.45—3.6 V
March 1999?
3DEE266GSA
WinChip 2A-300
250 MHz
100 MT/s
2.5
64 KiB
16.0 W
3.45—3.6 V
3DEE300GSA
Processor
model
Frequency
Release date
Part number(s)
Introduction price
WinChip 2B-200
200 MHz
66MT/s
3
64KiB
6.3 W
2.7—2.9 V
3DFK200BTA
WinChip 2B-233
200 MHz
100 MT/s
2
64 KiB
6.3 W
2.7—2.9 V
Processor
model
Frequency
Release date
Part number(s)
Introduction price
WinChip 3-233
200 MHz
66MT/s
3
128 KiB
? W
2.7—2.9 V
WinChip 3-266
233 MHz
66 MT/s
3.5
128 KiB
8.4 W
2.7—2.9 V
Samples only
FK233GDA
WinChip 3-300
233 MHz
100 MT/s
2.33
128 KiB
8.4 W
2.7—2.9 V
Samples only
FK300GDA
WinChip 3-300
266 MHz
66 MT/s
4
128 KiB
9.3 W
2.7—2.9 V
WinChip 3-333
250 MHz
100 MT/s
2.5
128 KiB
8.8 W
2.7—2.9 V
WinChip 3-333
266 MHz
100 MT/s
2.66
128 KiB
9.3 W
2.7—2.9 V
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