QED Introduces RM5270 Superscalar 64-bit Microprocessor; RM5270 is the Third Member of QED's RM52xx Family and is Targeted at High-Performance Embedded Markets.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 29, 1997--Quantum Effect Design, Inc. (QED), a leading supplier of high-end embedded microprocessor solutions, today announced the most recent addition to its RISCMark brand MIPS architecture RM52xx microprocessor family -- QED's RM5270.

The RM5270 joins the RM5230 and RM5260 as the third product in the family of R5000 derivatives. The QED-designed R5000 is currently shipping in high-performance systems including Silicon Graphics, Inc.'s O2 workstation, Cisco's Series 7500 high-performance routers and Electronics for Imaging Fiery printers.

The RM5270 represents the high-end of the RM52xx family with a 100 MHz capable 64-bit memory interface and integrated, on-chip secondary cache controller. The RM5270 has also been designed to offer customers a clear migration path to the RM7000, with full software and pinout compatibility. The RM5270 is ideally suited for high-performance embedded control applications and, like the other members of the RM52xx family and the R5000, the RM5270 implements the MIPS IV Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) and is fully backwards compatible with applications that run on processors implementing the earlier generation MIPS I-III Instruction Sets.

"The RM52xx family meets the requirements of many customers who need either the superior data handling capabilities of a 64-bit integer unit, or workstation-class floating-point performance via a single-cycle 'Multiply/Add' instruction and superscalar dispatch, or both, combined with support for different memory architectures to meet system cost requirements," said Tom Riordan, QED president and CEO. "The RM5270 extends the RM52xx family with a 64-bit memory interface and on-chip L2 cache controller. These features combined with a software and pinout compatible migration path to the RM7000 allows customers the flexibility to develop and/or maintain common software across multiple hardware platforms to meet different price/performance points."

RM5270 Product Description

The RM5270 is a high-performance superscalar 64-bit microprocessor with a 64-bit memory interface and integrated, on-chip L2 cache controller with an estimated 5.0 SPECint95 rating, 5.2 SPECfp95 rating and 260 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS performance at 200 MHz. It implements a DSP-enhanced MIPS IV (ISA) that includes the "Multiply/Add" (MULADD) and "Three-Operand Multiplyd MMU compatible with the R4600, R4700 and R5000 microprocessors, high-performance 64-bit memory interface with 100 MHz maximum operation, 5V tolerant I/O's and 1149.ing. The RM5270 is manufactured using leading-e

Tools Support for the RM5270

QED is supporting embedded designers' requirements with a wide range of software and hardware tools for the RM5270 (see press release "QED Expands Third-Party Tools Support for its High-End Emnd from the Free Software Foundation.

Pacgh-end embedded applications such as internetworchitecture that increases processor efficiency an d performance. This architecture enables one integer and one floating point instruction to be processed within one microprocessor clock cycle, thereby achieving higher system performance without increasing clock speed. Superscalar processing is important for numeric algorithms found in DSP, imaging and 3-D applications as it enables computation and operand access to occur in parallel.

RM5230 and RM5260 Update

QED has added 150MHz and 175MHz versions of its RM5230 processor, and 175MHz and 200MHz versions of its RM5260 processor to its popular RM52xx product family. The company has also decreased prices on these two processors by approximately thirty percent.

"The superior performance of the RM5230 and RM5260 have driven higher volumes than we had initially anticipated, so this price decrease reflects our desire to have our customers benefit from these high volumes," said Riordan.

About Quantum Effect Design, Inc.

Quantum Effect Design, Inc., founded in 1991, designs, develops and markets high-performance, cost-effective, market-driven embedded microprocessor solutions. The company designed and developed many of the 64-bit MIPS microprocessors including the popular R4600, R4700, R4650, R4640, R5000 and under its own "RISCMark" label, the RM5230, RM5260, RM5270 and RM7000.

Quantum Effect Design's RM52xx and RM7000 product families include high-end, 32- and 64-bit embedded microprocessors targeted at emerging and fast-growing markets such as internetworking, Windows CE, printers, games, Internet TV/set-top boxes/cable modems and high-speed communications devices. The company has an unsurpassed record of designing and delivering innovative high- performance microprocessors in breakthrough time-to-volume.

Company headquarters are located in Santa Clara, California. Telephone: [phone]. QED World Wide Web site: http://www.qedinc.com -0-

Note to Editors: MIPS is a registered trademark and R5000 a trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. R4600, R4700, R4650, and R4640 are trademarks of Integrated Device Technology, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. O2 is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. RISCMark, RM5230, RM5260, RM5270, RM52xx and RM7000 are trademarks of Quantum Effect Design, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACTS: Quantum Effect Design

Rick Kepple, 408/565-0315

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Simon/McGarry Public Relations 

Sandra McBride/Melanie Laurence, 408/746-0911

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