management technology.
Transmeta says it is targeting its TM5xx processors at low power, fanless mobile and embedded computing applications requiring x86 processor compatibility, including thin clients, blade servers, printers, copiers, point-of-sale terminals, smart displays, portable consumer devices, ultra-personal computers (UPCs), and set-top boxes.
According to Transmeta, the processors in its Crusoe TM5xx product line feature low-power and high-performance characteristics and are based on a 128-bit VLIW (very long instruction word) engine, which issues up to 4 instructions per clock cycle. The new processors also include integer and floating-point execution units, separate 64 Kbyte instruction and data caches, L2 write-back cache, a 64-bit DDR SDRAM memory controller, and a 32-bit PCI controller.
Transmeta says its Crusoe processors' LongRun power management technology reduces thermal constraints by dynamically adjusting the operating voltage and clock frequency of the processor core based on application demands and intelligently adapting processor operation to system thermal environments.
The TM5700/TM5900 are sampling now, and will be in production in January 2004. Additionally, a Mini-ITX motherboard evaluation/reference platform based up the TM5900 processor will be available in Q1 2004.
Third-party companies announcing support today for the news processors include Microsoft, Phoenix Technologies, Silicon Motion, and Wyse Technology.
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