IBM, NEC expand use of Cyrix chip

Cyrix roped in IBM and NEC this week to lend support to its 5x86 processor architecture, adding two more heavyweight endorsements to Cyrix's campaign to take business away from Intel.

March 15, 1996 12:30 p.m. PT

Cyrix roped in IBM and NEC this week to lend support to its 5x86 processor architecture, adding two more heavyweight endorsements to Cyrix's campaign to take business away from Intel.

At this week's CeBIT exposition in Hannover, Germany, IBM announced that it will use the Cyrix 100-MHz 5x86 chip in new models added to its ThinkPad 365 notebook series. IBM is already using the processor in its Aptiva desktop system, but only in Europe and Latin America.

NEC Technologies, meanwhile, announced that it will use the the 100-MHz 5X86 Cyrix chip in its recently announced Versa 550D Notebook. NEC, the parent company, is already shipping Cyrix-based desktops and notebooks in Japan.

Cyrix officials said 6 million Cyrix processors have been installed in nine PC platforms, including Apple Computer, IBM, and Sharp. But the company still has a long way to go before it threatens Intel's hegemony in the PC processor market.