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`4/19/90 EDN 3
`1990 WLNR 4425636
`Loaded Date: 12/15/2008
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`EDN
`Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US)
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`April 19, 1990
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`Volume v35; Issue n9A
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`i860 takes designs from DSPs, ASICs: floating-point strength intrigues graphics, imaging hardware makers.
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` i860 takes designs from DSPs, ASICs ANAHEIM, CA--Intel's i860 RISC processor is displacing digital signal
`processors and ASICs in subsystems that accelerate floating-point-intensive applications like imaging, simulation, and
`3D graphics shading. Design engineers point to strong floating-point performance and hard-wired shading algorithms
`as i860 assets.
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`The price for such performance, many concede, is a comparative lack of development software.
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` "We would have used one of the latest-generation DSP chips--probably from Motorola, AT&T, or Texas Instruments
`in that order--but we needed the performance," says Barry Isenstein, principal product engineer for Mercury Computer
`Systems (Lowell, MA).
`
` Mercury was quick to pledge support for the i860 when it was initially introduced a year ago. The company's MC860
`Series encompasses single- and dual-i860 boards; up to eight can be strung together as a single subsystem. Using
`dual-processor boards, that string translates into 1.2 GFLOPS peak performance. Prices for a uniprocessor board with
`2 Mbytes of memory start at $11,900.
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` Similarly, engineers at Matrox Electronic Systems (Dorval, Quebec, Canada) were originally considering a Texas
`Instruments DSP for the MP-860 accelerator board, introduced here late last month at the National Computer Graphics
`Association (NCGA) conference. The accelerator was developed to work with the company's Image-1280 imaging
`board.
`
` "We were looking at the TI C30. It's about one-third the cost, but around half the performance," says product manager
`Adam Walters. The board's 40-MHz i860 underpins 80-MFLOPS/40-MIPS performance. The company anticipates
`third-quarter availability and pricing about $6300.
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` As with Mercury's board, up to eight Matrox boards can be strung together, executing roughly 640 MFLOPS/320
`MIPS. To support such configurations, both board makers devised subsystem buses. Mercury's transfers at 160
`Mbytes/sec, and Matrox's passes messages at 100 Mbytes/sec.
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` It's a common approach. Imaging Technology has been shipping a proprietary intraboard bus on its 3-board imaging
`subsystem for more than a year.
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` Besides Matrox, Hyperspeed Technology (San Diego, CA) and Spectre Corp (Woburn, MA) also introduced float-
`ing-point accelerators at NCGA.
`
` Also at the show, Hewlett-Packard Co (Palo Alto, CA) and Truevision (Indianapolis, IN) furthered the chip's foray
`into graphics subsystems. Although the i860 will displace some ASICs here, says design engineers, other chips are
`needed to support display control, video output, and the like.
`
` HP combines the i860 with ASICs and VLSI circuitry to create a scalable 3D-graphics subsystem to be bundled in its
`computer systems. The subsystem will handle texture mapping with perspective interpolation, full-color antialiased
`vectors, alpha blending, contour mapping, deformation animation, and capping and sectioning with interference
`checking. It will also support separate color maps for each application window.
`
` Availability is expected sometime in the second half of the year.
`
` Truevision's Horizon860 board for IBM PC/ATs employs a 33-MHz i860 to accelerate 3D and other graphics ap-
`plications. With 66-MFLOPS/27-MIPS operation, the board shades 40,000 polygons/sec. Up to seven boards can be
`strung together using Truevision's proprietary subsystem bus, which sustains a 264-Mbyte/sec transfer rate. With 4
`Mbytes of memory, the board costs $6295.
`
`
` ---- INDEX REFERENCES ---
`
`
`COMPANY: HEWLETT PACKARD CORP; MATROX ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS; MOTOROLA BROADBAND
`COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR; BALTIMORE TECHNOLOGIES PLC; DIALOGIC CORP; INTEL SA;
`MOTOROLA CAPITAL TRUST I; SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES INC; MOTOROLA; TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
`INC; CABLE AND WIRELESS PANAMA SA; INTEL SA CORP; MERCURY COMPUTER SYSTEMS INC;
`INTEL GMBH; INTEL CORP; HEWLETT PACKARD CO
`
`INDUSTRY: (Semiconductors in Communications Applications (1SE84); Electronics (1EL16); Consumer Elec-
`tronics (1CO61); Computer Equipment (1CO77); Semiconductors in Graphic Devices (1SE08); Digital Signal Pro-
`cessors (1DI19); Imaging (1IM18); Semiconductor Products (1SE02); Application-Specific Integrated Circuits
`(1AP55); Semiconductors in PCs & Peripherals (1SE95); Semiconductor (1SE88); Science & Engineering (1SC33);
`Semiconductor Applications (1SE81); Semiconductors in Broadband & Multimedia (1SE69))
`
`REGION: (North America (1NO39); USA (1US73); Americas (1AM92); Texas (1TE14))
`
`Language: EN
`
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`OTHER INDEXING: (DSP; HEWLETT PACKARD CO; HP; HYPERSPEED TECHNOLOGY; INTEL;
`MATROX; MATROX ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS; MERCURY; MERCURY COMPUTER SYSTEMS;
`MOTOROLA; NATIONAL COMPUTER GRAPHICS ASSOCIATION; NCGA; SPECTRE CORP; TEXAS IN-
`STRUMENTS; TEXAS INSTRUMENTS DSP; TI; VLSI) (Adam Walters; Barry Isenstein; Similarly; Truevision)
`
`KEYWORDS: (Business); (Electronics and electrical industries); (Intel 80860 (Microprocessor)); (Intel 80860 (Mi-
`croprocessor) - Usage); (Product information); (RISC based computers); (RISC based computers - Equipment and
`supplies); (CPUs (Central processing units)); (CPUs (Central processing units) - Usage); (RISC processors); (Re-
`duced-instruction-set computers); (Reduced-instruction-set computers - Equipment and supplies); (Microprocessors);
`(Microprocessors - Usage)
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`COMPANY TERMS: INTEL CORP
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`PRODUCT: Semiconductors
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`SIC: 3674
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`Word Count: 766
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