Transmeta Tops Intel Mobile CPU Speed

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January 19, 2000 (10:14 AM EST)

By Mark Hachman,

Transmeta on Wednesday finally took the wraps off its long-awaited Crusoe processor, which translates Intel's X86 instructions into native code for dramatically improved processor life and clock speed.

As expected, the chips will be used for a new class of Internet access terminal and mobile PC. Both of Transmeta's chips, the TM5400 and TM3120, dynamically adjust clock speed and power levels to match their application. The 700-MHz TM5400 will be the fastest mobile processor available, the company said.

Leveraging the input of Linus Torvalds -- the creator of the Linux operating system and a Transmeta employee -- the company will also develop a small code-size version of Linux, called mobile Linux, that will be made available to OEMs and the open source community.

A spokesman for Intel said the company has no comment as to whether it will challenge the legality of Transmeta's code-morphing software. However, the company is apparently protected from recrimination because its foundry, IBM Microelectronics, has a separate patent cross-licensing agreement with Intel under which Transmeta will operate.

At a press conference in Saratoga, Calif., on Wednesday, Transmeta said battery life will be the main focus of its chips. The TM5400 is optimized for mobile PCs, and will ship at 500-MHz and 700-MHz clock speeds. The TM3120 is designed for low-cost Internet access terminals, and will be available at clock speeds of 333 and 400 MHz.

The TM5400, to be fabricated in a 0.18-micron process, contains a 125-Kbyte Level 1 cache and 256 Kbytes of Level 2 cache. The TM3120, designed in a 0.25-micron process, contains 96 Kbytes of Level 1 cache and no Level 2 cache.

Running a basic e-mail application, the chips can consume as little as 10 to 20 milliwatts, or 1 to 3 watts when running a DVD application, Transmeta said. Using a 32 watt per hour battery, and running an application that consumes 4 watts of power, the estimated battery life of a system will be eight hours, according to the company.

Each of the chips contain an on-chip SDRAM memory controller and PCI interface. In addition, the TM5400 contains an interface to double data rate SDRAM.

The chips are sampling. The 500- and 700-MHz TM5400 versions will list for $119 and $329, respectively. The 333- and 400-MHz TM3120 devices will list for $65 and $89, respectively. All chips ship in a 474-pin BGA package.