The New VIA Cyrix III: The Worlds First 0.15 Micron x86 CPU

Conclusion

From the looks of our Samuel2 based Cyrix III processor, it may be a while before the Cyrix line can achieve success again. There is almost no question that as a desktop solution the Samuel2 based Cyrix III is destined to fail. This is not only due to its poor performance but also its cost. Our sources say that the Samuel2 based Cyrix III is expected to cost $20 less than a Celeron of equivalent speed but can not be confirmed.

If proved true, this means that at the estimated release speed of 700 MHz, the Cyrix III will cost about $56 (based on today's prices). For $6 more, one can get a Celeron 566 MHz, like the one tested in this review, that outperformed the Cyrix III in every test. Since the same motherboard and system components can be used, no extra cost will go into building this Celeron system. In fact, it would be cheaper to build the Celeron system simply due to the fact that the memory does not need to operate at 133 MHz (like it does in the Cyrix III) but only needs to be rated to 66 MHz.

To put the final nail in the coffin, all Duron processors at and below the speed of 700 MHz can currently be found for less than the $56 price that we estimated for the Cyrix III. The Duron 600 MHz that grossly outperformed the Cyrix III in our benchmarks can actually be found for $7 less than the price we estimate the Cyrix III at. Although the current budget solutions for the socket-A Duron are not as powerful as the budget solutions that the Celeron has for it, there is really no question that even these low performing budget solutions will easily outperform the Cyrix III.

What part of the market does this leave the Cyrix III? Well, with the budget market essentially eliminated all the Cyrix III has left to cling to is the ultra portable market, where the low power consumption of the chip may prove to be attractive. It is unclear how the Cyrix III will perform when compared to other "ultra portable" CPUs, but it is necessary to keep in mind that VIA is pushing the Cyrix III into the value PC market, not the Internet appliance or handheld market.

With this in mind, we can only say that the third incarnation of the Cyrix III, the one based on the Samuel2 core, is destined to go the way of recent Cyrix products. In order for VIA to reach their goal of 10% market saturation, they will either have to drastically change the Cyrix III as it currently is or come out with a new product that is priced lower and performs better. The additional 64KB of L2 cache and the shrink to the 0.15 micron process do not seem to be not enough to save the Cyrix III from going the way of the dodo.