MP6
Encyclopedia
This article is about the mP6 microprocessor.
The Rise mP6 was a superpipelined
and superscalar
microprocessor
designed by Rise Technology
to compete with the Intel Pentium line.
had spent 5 years developing a x86 compatible microprocessor
, and finally introduced it in November 1998 as a low-cost, low-power alternative for the Super Socket 7
platform, that allowed for higher Front-side bus speeds than the previous Socket 7
and that made it possible for other CPU manufacturers to keep competing against Intel, that had moved to the Slot 1
platform.
and a number of techniques to resolve data dependency
conflicts.
According to Rise, the mP6 should perform almost as fast as Intel Pentium II at the same frequencies.
, the IDT WinChip 2-266
and the AMD K6-2 266
, that all delivered more performance in most benchmarks and applications. The Celeron and the K6-2 actually worked at 266 Mhz, and the WinChip 2's PR rating was based upon the performance of it's AMD opponent.
Like competitors Cyrix
and IDT
, Rise found it was unable to compete with Intel and AMD.
(SiS) licensed the mP6 technology, and used it in the SiS 550, a system-on-a-chip
(SoC) that integrated the mP6 CPU, the north and south bridges, and sound and video on a single chip. The SiS 550 saw use in some compact PCs and in consumer devices, such as DVD
players. The SiS 551 chip was also marketed by DM&P as Vortex86
(M6127D).
Later DM&P took over mP6 design from SiS and continues development under Vortex86
SoC
product line.
DM&P further signed an agreement with Xcore to allow them to rebrand the chip as Xcore86.
The Rise mP6 was a superpipelined
Instruction pipeline
An instruction pipeline is a technique used in the design of computers and other digital electronic devices to increase their instruction throughput ....
and superscalar
Superscalar
A superscalar CPU architecture implements a form of parallelism called instruction level parallelism within a single processor. It therefore allows faster CPU throughput than would otherwise be possible at a given clock rate...
microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
designed by Rise Technology
Rise Technology
Rise Technology, was a short lived microprocessor manufacturer that produced the Intel x86 MMX compatible mP6 processor.The Santa Clara, California based company was started by David Lin in 1993 with funding from 15 Taiwanese investors, including UMC, ACER and VIA Technologies...
to compete with the Intel Pentium line.
History
Rise TechnologyRise Technology
Rise Technology, was a short lived microprocessor manufacturer that produced the Intel x86 MMX compatible mP6 processor.The Santa Clara, California based company was started by David Lin in 1993 with funding from 15 Taiwanese investors, including UMC, ACER and VIA Technologies...
had spent 5 years developing a x86 compatible microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
, and finally introduced it in November 1998 as a low-cost, low-power alternative for the Super Socket 7
Super Socket 7
The Super Socket 7, also referred to as Super 7, is an extension of the Socket 7 ZIF socket specification. It features a 100 MHz front-side bus, support for AGP, and a SPGA package. Super Socket was used by AMD K6-2 and K6-III processors, and some of the final Cyrix M-II processors...
platform, that allowed for higher Front-side bus speeds than the previous Socket 7
Socket 7
Socket 7 is a physical and electrical specification for an x86-style CPU socket on a personal computer motherboard. The socket supersedes the earlier Socket 5, and accepts P5 Pentium microprocessors manufactured by Intel, as well as compatibles made by Cyrix/IBM, AMD, IDT and others.Socket 7 was...
and that made it possible for other CPU manufacturers to keep competing against Intel, that had moved to the Slot 1
Slot 1
Slot 1 refers to the physical and electrical specification for the connector used by some of Intel's microprocessors, including the Pentium Pro, Celeron, Pentium II and the Pentium III...
platform.
Design
The mP6 made use of the MMX instruction set and had three MMX pipelines which allowed the CPU to execute up to three MMX instructions in a single cycle. Its three integer units made it possible to execute three integer instructions in a single cycle as well and the fully pipelined floating point unit could execute up to two floating-point instructions per cycle. To further improve the performance the core utilized branch predictionBranch predictor
In computer architecture, a branch predictor is a digital circuit that tries to guess which way a branch will go before this is known for sure. The purpose of the branch predictor is to improve the flow in the instruction pipeline...
and a number of techniques to resolve data dependency
Data dependency
A data dependency in computer science is a situation in which a program statement refers to the data of a preceding statement. In compiler theory, the technique used to discover data dependencies among statements is called dependence analysis.There are three types of dependencies: data, name, and...
conflicts.
According to Rise, the mP6 should perform almost as fast as Intel Pentium II at the same frequencies.
Performance
Despite its innovative features, the real-life performance of the mP6 proved disappointing. This was mainly due to the small L1 Cache. Another reason was that the Rise mP6's PR 266 rating was based upon the old Intel Pentium MMX, while it's main competitors were the Intel Celeron 266Celeron
Celeron is a brand name given by Intel Corp. to a number of different x86 computer microprocessor models targeted at budget personal computers....
, the IDT WinChip 2-266
WinChip
The WinChip series was a low-power Socket 7-based x86 processor designed by Centaur Technology and marketed by its parent company IDT.-Design:The design of the WinChip was quite different from other processors of the time...
and the AMD K6-2 266
AMD K6-2
The K6-2 was an x86 microprocessor introduced by AMD on May 28, 1998, and available in speeds ranging from 266 to 550 MHz. An enhancement of the original K6, the K6-2 introduced AMD's 3D-Now! SIMD instruction set, featured a larger 64 KiB Level 1 cache , and an upgraded system-bus interface...
, that all delivered more performance in most benchmarks and applications. The Celeron and the K6-2 actually worked at 266 Mhz, and the WinChip 2's PR rating was based upon the performance of it's AMD opponent.
Use
Announced in 1998, the chip never achieved widespread use, and Rise quietly exited the market in December of the following year.Like competitors Cyrix
Cyrix
Cyrix Corporation was a microprocessor developer that was founded in 1988 in Richardson, Texas as a specialist supplier of high-performance math coprocessors for 286 and 386 microprocessors. The company was founded by former Texas Instruments staff members and had a long but troubled relationship...
and IDT
Integrated Device Technology
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. is a publicly traded corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, that designs, manufactures, and markets low-power, high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for the advanced communications, computing, and consumer industries. The company...
, Rise found it was unable to compete with Intel and AMD.
Legacy
Silicon Integrated SystemsSilicon Integrated Systems
Silicon Integrated Systems is a company that manufactures, among other things, motherboard chipsets. The company was founded in 1987 in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan.-Business:...
(SiS) licensed the mP6 technology, and used it in the SiS 550, a system-on-a-chip
System-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
(SoC) that integrated the mP6 CPU, the north and south bridges, and sound and video on a single chip. The SiS 550 saw use in some compact PCs and in consumer devices, such as DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
players. The SiS 551 chip was also marketed by DM&P as Vortex86
Vortex86
The Vortex86 is a SoC based on an x86 compatible core. It formerly belonged to SiS, which got the basic design from Rise Technology, and was sold to the Taiwanese DM&P Electronics....
(M6127D).
Later DM&P took over mP6 design from SiS and continues development under Vortex86
Vortex86
The Vortex86 is a SoC based on an x86 compatible core. It formerly belonged to SiS, which got the basic design from Rise Technology, and was sold to the Taiwanese DM&P Electronics....
SoC
System-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
product line.
DM&P further signed an agreement with Xcore to allow them to rebrand the chip as Xcore86.
mP6 data
| Model number | Frequency | L1 Cache | FSB | Mult. CPU multiplier In computing, the clock multiplier measures the ratio of an internal CPU clock rate to the externally supplied clock. A CPU with a 10x multiplier will thus see 10 internal cycles for every external clock cycle... | Voltage CPU core voltage The CPU core voltage is the power supply voltage supplied to the CPU , GPU, or other device containing a processing core... | TDP Thermal Design Power The thermal design power , sometimes called thermal design point, refers to the maximum amount of power the cooling system in a computer is required to dissipate. For example, a laptop's CPU cooling system may be designed for a 20 watt TDP, which means that it can dissipate up to 20 watts of heat... | Socket CPU socket A CPU socket or CPU slot is a mechanical component that provides mechanical and electrical connections between a microprocessor and a printed circuit board . This allows the CPU to be replaced without soldering.... | Release date | Part number(s) | sSpec number | Introduction price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR 166 | 166 Mhz | 8 (data) + 8 (instructions) KB Kilobyte The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information... |
83 MT/s | 2x | 2.75-2.85 V | 7.28 W | Super Socket 7 Super Socket 7 The Super Socket 7, also referred to as Super 7, is an extension of the Socket 7 ZIF socket specification. It features a 100 MHz front-side bus, support for AGP, and a SPGA package. Super Socket was used by AMD K6-2 and K6-III processors, and some of the final Cyrix M-II processors... BGA Ball grid array A ball grid array is a type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits.- Description :The BGA is descended from the pin grid array , which is a package with one face covered with pins in a grid pattern. These pins conduct electrical signals from the integrated circuit to the printed... 387 PPGA Pin grid array A pin grid array, often abbreviated PGA, is a type of integrated circuit packaging. In a PGA, the package is square or roughly square, and the pins are arranged in a regular array on the underside of the package... 296 |
13 October 1998 | MP6441RPFE4-Q | $50 | |
| PR 233 | 190 Mhz | 8 (data) + 8 (instructions) KB |
95 MT/s | 2x | 2.75-2.85 V | 8.11 W | Super Socket 7 BGA 387 PPGA 296 |
13 October 1998 | |||
| PR 266 | 200 Mhz | 8 (data) + 8 (instructions) KB |
100 MT/s | 2x | 2.75-2.85 V | 8.54 W | Super Socket 7 BGA 387 PPGA 296 |
13 October 1998 | MP6441DPFH4-Q MP6441RPFH4-Q |
$70 | |
| PR 333 | 240 Mhz | 8 (data) + 8 (instructions) KB |
95 MT/s | 2.5x | 2 V | 10.18 W | Super Socket 7 BGA 387 PPGA 296 |
26 May 1999 Samples only |
|||
| PR 366 | 250 Mhz | 8 (data) + 8 (instructions) KB |
100 MT/s | 2.5x | 2 V | 10.72 W | Super Socket 7 BGA 387 PPGA 296 |
26 May 1999 Samples only |
MP65RPAPH5-DS |