HP expands RISC business

Looking for its own spot in the limelight at the Microprocessor Forum in San Jose, California, Hewlett-Packard (HWP) today introduced a new member of its PA-8000 line of PA-RISC microprocessors.

The new PA-8200 is a 64-bit processor running at 220 MHz built around the PA-RISC 2.0 architecture. New features include a larger, faster cache using synchronous static RAM memory, as well as improved memory management and dynamic branch prediction.

HP says the new chip, which is scheduled for shipment in the first half of 1997, will be used in workstations and servers. HP added that its PA-8500 which will ship in the first half of 1998 and feature much higher clock speeds and an advanced 0.25-micron production technology.