Is the end of the Intel-AMD duopoly nigh? Via Technologies is hoping this may be the case when it announces the "Isaiah" processor later this month.
The company's first high-performance x86 chip will be targeted at the mainstream PC market--another first for the Taipei-based chip supplier. Via processors have historically appeared in ultrasmall mobile devices (such as the OQO), embedded computers, or thin-client computers.
Isaiah, like Via processors before it, will still hew to the lower-power line, however. Isaiah (a code name) will consume no more than 3.5 watts, while Intel's Atom processor ranges from 0.6 to 2.5 watts. Atom, however, uses a more simple "in-order execution" design compared to Isaiah's Superscalar, out-of-order design capable of decoding three full x86 instructions per clock cycle of the processor.
Because of this design, Isaiah may deliver higher performance than Atom, though independent benchmarking will be the final judge.
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