Review: VIA Cyrix III / Samuel
Pricing and Availability
The Cyrix III is claimed to be available at clock speeds of 500 and 533 MHz right from the start. VIA already ships limited quantities to major distributors. Full mass production will ship into the Asian/Pacific region first since low-cost CPUs are of greater importance there. Larger quantities for Europe are expected for the end of June or beginning of July. VIA intends to supply a total of 150,000 Cyrix III processors in June 2000.
Originally VIA planned to start mass production of the Cyrix III at clock speeds of up to 667 MHz. However, this production schedule had to revised at short notice due to high reject rates. The roadmap now schedules the end of October 2000 as the delivery date for a Cyrix III at 667 MHz. It is likely though as yet unconfirmed that a 733 MHz version will also be available by this date.
Clock Speed (MHz) | 1Ku Tray Units, USD | Available |
|---|---|---|
Last revision: 14.06.00 | ||
500 | 50 $ | Now |
533 | 75 $ | Now |
566 | tba | August/September |
600 | tba | August/September |
667 | 160 $ | October/November |
VIA's next generation of microprocessors is currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2001. The CPU (code name: Samuel 2) is based on a modified WinChip-C5B core. It will feature a 128-KByte L1 cache and a 64-KByte L2 cache. VIA claims clock speeds from 667 MHz upwards. The second quarter of 2001 will see Samuel 2 at 800 MHz. It will then replace the Cyrix III.