Motorola Announces Pricing and Availability for 200-, 180- and 166MHz
PowerPC 603e Microprocessors
SAN JOSE, California - May 13, 1996 - At Apple's Worldwide Developer
Conference, Motorola RISC Microprocessor Division today announced pricing
and availability for a performance extension of its PowerPC 603e microprocessor
family: the 200-, 180- and 166MHz PowerPC 603e microprocessors. The company
has attained an industry milestone with its 603e microprocessor - the first
200MHz volume desktop microprocessor available. This 603e microprocessor
provides higher performance and lower power for the volume desktop market
than today's fastest Pentium desktop processors - at lower prices. The high
performance and low power consumption of the entire 603e family allow manufacturers
to build systems ranging from subnotebooks and laptops to high-performance
notebooks and mid-level desktops. "Last fall, the PowerPC alliance
announced it would ship the 166MHz PowerPC 603e microprocessor in mid-1996,"
commented Linley Gwennap, editor in chief, Microprocessor Report. "I
am impressed that Motorola has exceeded that performance mark with the 200-
and 180MHz 603e parts and that their prices are significantly better than
those of comparable Intel processors." Motorola has increased performance
through improved process technology and is delivering today the first Motorola
PowerPC microprocessor designed in a 0.35 micron process. Additionally,
Motorola has taken advantage of its sophisticated wafer fabrication technology
developed by the Advanced Products Research and Development Laboratory (APRDL)
to deliver these higher-speed microprocessors, which have been manufactured
at the MOS 13 semiconductor fabrication facility. Both APRDL and MOS 13
are located in Austin, Texas.
"With the 200-, 180- and 166MHz 603e processors, Motorola
continues to drive the price/performance advantage of PowerPC technology
to higher levels," commented Tom Gunter, vice president and general
manager of the Motorola RISC Microprocessor Division. "The unique combination
of high-performance, low-power, competitively-priced 603e microprocessors
will enable our customers to excel in the volume desktop, high-performance
notebook arenas and emerging technology markets."
PowerPC Customer Support Apple Computer announced it will use the 200MHz
PowerPC 603e microprocessor in systems available before the end of 1996.
"Apple is really excited about the future of PowerPC technology,"
noted Howard Lee, senior vice president of the Macintosh Systems Division,
Apple Computer, Inc. "These high-speed 603e processors are yet another
sign of Motorola's commitment to the PowerPC architecture and to its customers,
and will ensure that Apple's Power Macintosh PowerBook and desktop product
lines deliver leading-edge performance, graphics capabilities and flexibility
to the volume desktop arena." Motorola Computer Group, Power Computing
and UMAX also endorsed Motorola's faster PowerPC microprocessor offerings.
"Motorola is again demonstrating its commitment to the PowerPC architecture
and platform with today's announcement of the new PowerPC 603e microprocessor
parts," stated Joe Guglielmi, corporate vice president and general
manager, Motorola Computer Group (MCG). "By taking advantage of this
powerful, new line of microprocessors, MCG will continue to provide our
customers with leading-edge technology and products."
Power Computing said it will use the PowerPC 603e microprocessor in its
new PowerBase line of high volume systems expected to ship this summer.
"Power Computing is committed to providing our customers with superior
PowerPC microprocessor-based products," said Stephen Kahng, president
and CEO, Power Computing Corporation. "Motorola's PowerPC 603e microprocessors
at 200-, 180- and 166MHz will enable us to expand our product line to offer
more high-performance, low-power desktop systems at extremely competitive
prices." "UMAX is pleased that Motorola has extended the performance
of its PowerPC 603e microprocessor family," said Don Chang, president
and CEO, UMAX Computer Corporation. "Our goal is to broaden the Macintosh
market, and Motorola's enhanced 603e microprocessor line will usher our
product lines into a new generation of price/performance." Pricing
and Availability Available in June, the PowerPC 603e microprocessors are
priced at $224 for the 166MHz version, $256 for the 180MHz version and $360
for the 200MHz version, when purchased in quantities of 1,000.
Technical Specifications - PowerPC 603e At 200-, 180- and 166MHz, the PowerPC
603e microprocessor is a 32-bit high-performance extension of the PowerPC
603 line of microprocessors which was designed to meet the power management
and performance needs of next-generation portable and desktop computers.
At 166MHz, the microprocessor operates in the 3.0 W typical power dissipation
range required in a portable environment. The PowerPC 603e microprocessors
have increased performance more than 300 percent over the original PowerPC
603 microprocessor announced in October 1994 as a result of doubling the
caches and raising clock frequency. The die size is 80 sq. mm and the device
has a IEEE-754 standard FPU. It has 2.6 million transistors and was designed
using 0.35-micron CMOS process technology.
Motorola More information on Motorola's PowerPC microprocessors is available
on Motorola's PowerPC Web server, located at http://www.mot.com/PowerPC.
With 1995 worldwide sales of $8.5 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products
Sector is the largest U.S.-based broad line supplier of semiconductor solutions.
Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications,
semiconductors, and advanced electronic systems, components, and services.
Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging
and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and
space electronics and computers. Motorola semiconductors power communication
devices, computers and millions of other products. Motorola's 1995 sales
were $27 billion.
