Availability

Q. What speed grades are currently available

A. Currently IDT is shipping 180MHz, 200MHz and 225MHz parts using the .35 micron process. These are the single voltage plane MMX parts. The 180MHz part uses a 60MHz bus with a 3x CPU multiplier. The 200MHz part uses a 66MHz bus with a 3x CPU multiplier. The 225MHz part uses a 75MHz bus with a 3x CPU multiplier.

Q. Where is IDT making these parts?

A. The initial runs of parts came from their 6-inch wafer R&D facility in Santa Clara. Production quantities are just beginning to show up from their Hillsboro, Oregon 8-inch wafer facility. They’re planning on 80 to 90% of the production to come from Oregon.

IBM has just signed on with IDT to provide additional fab capacity for the Winchips. These parts should start showing up in the third and fourth quarters of 1998. Eventually IDT will also transition to the newer .25 micron process which shrinks their die size from 88mm2 to 58mm2.

Q. Where can I buy an IDT Winchip processor?

A. Unfortunately, finding Winchips to purchase takes a little effort. This is the aspect of developing a new chip that will be the hardest for IDT to overcome. The best method will be to visit their main webpage at www.winchip.com and up on top of their directory list is BUY A WINCHIP. This is a search engine for finding existing dealers who are handling the chip. It’s obvious when you pull down the list for US sellers that only 8 states are shown. I’m sure support will grow, but the trouble is convincing dealers who already handle Intel, AMD and Cyrix processors, that handling a fourth processor is necessary.