Rise Technology Reveals Product Roadmap for the ValuePC Desktop and Notebook Markets.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 1999--

Award Winning Family of x86-Compatible Microprocessors Optimized

for Sub-$600 Desktop and Sub-$1,000 Notebook ValuePC Markets

Rise(TM) Technology Company today unveiled the company's 1999 product roadmap for the mP6(TM) family of microprocessors optimized for the sub-$600 desktop and sub-$1,000 notebook ValuePC markets.

Rise Technology announced they are providing samples of the mP6-366 and mP6-333 microprocessors to early desktop customers. These products will be followed later in the year by higher performance speed grades as Rise transitions manufacturing from its current .25 micron process to a more advanced .18 micron process. All of these products are based on the 100MHz Super 7 bus that is standard in most low-cost PC's today.

Rise Technology also revealed that they will introduce a new desktop product later this year that is compatible with "Socket 370" currently used today by the Intel(R) Celeron(TM) processor.

Rise Technology's 1999 Product Roadmap for Sub-$600 Desktop PCs -0-

Sampling Schedule                      Volume Production Schedule
Q1: na                                 Q1: mP6 233, 266 (.25 micron)
Q2: mP6 333, 366 (.25 micron)          Q2: mP6 233, 266 (.25 micron)
Q3: mP6 380, 400 (.18 micron)          Q3: mP6 333, 366 (.25 micron)
Q4: mP6 466, Socket 370 (.18 micron)   Q4: mP6 380, 400, 433
                                                        (.18 micron)

"With the release of the new speed grades of the mP6 processor and the .18 micron process technology, Rise will be able to satisfy the performance demands of the fast-growing sub-$600 consumer PC market," said Mike Feibus, principal analyst at Mercury Research Inc. in Scottsdale, AZ.

Rise also revealed its notebook product roadmap, including a rapid transition to 2.0V versions of the mP6 and mP6(TM) II processors. Rise Technology is currently providing samples of a 2.0V enhanced version of the mP6 processor to early notebook customers, and plans to be shipping both the mP6 and mP6 II processors in .18 micron processes later this year.

The mP6 II includes the addition of a 256K on-chip L2 cache, as well as support for a tri-level cache architecture that can support up to 2,320K system cache. Additionally, the 2.0V versions of the mP6 and mP6 II processors have the lowest power consumption of any competitive processor, using less than 50% the typical power consumption of competitive mobile products. At 300 MHz, the mP6 II consumes less than 4.5W typical. This provides a significant improvement to a system's battery life as well as the higher performance due to the on-chip L2 cache.

Rise Technology's 1999 Product Roadmap for Value Notebooks & Mini-notebooks -0-

Sampling Schedule                Volume Production Schedule
Q1: na                           Q1: mP6 233, 266 (.25 micron)
Q2: mP6 333, 366 (.18 micron)    Q2: mP6 233, 266 (.25 micron)
Q3: mP6 380,400; mP6             Q3: mP6 333, 366 (.25 micron)
 II 380,400 (.18 micron)
Q4: mP6 466, mP6 II 466          Q4: mP6 II 380, 400, 466 (.18 micron)
(.18 micron)                     Mini-notebooks: mP6 380,400,433
                                                          (.18 micron)

"Rise Technology is well positioned to serve the sub-$600 desktop and sub-$1000 notebook ValuePC markets," said David T. Lin, Chairman and CEO of Rise Technology. "Our unique business model which entails a close relationship with a third party foundry and strong partnerships with chipset and Taiwan motherboard manufacturers enables us to drive leading-edge production processes through our internal process development team. This business model allows us to competitively meet the product price/performance/multimedia and power demands of the ValuePC consumer market".

Optimized for Low System Cost

By specifically designing the mP6 microprocessors with low-power consumption and superior architectural features, Rise is able to reduce the overall cost to OEM's and systems integrators by allowing for the reduction of hardware components in a system. The triple MMX(TM) allows the mP6 processor to reduce the cost of the system by eliminating expensive hardware components like DVD decoders and modem chipsets and implementing those functions in software. In addition, the BGA packaging allows OEM's to mount the mP6 processor directly on a motherboard reducing system costs even further. The BGA packaging is possible due to extremely low power consumption of the mP6 processor.

About Rise Technology

Founded in 1993, Rise Technology Company is a worldwide supplier of x86 CPU solutions that are optimized for low-power multimedia notebook and desktop ValuePC systems. The company produces x86 solutions that are also ideal for other x86-based systems such as Windows-based terminals, Windows-CE platforms, and set-top boxes. Rise's mP6 microprocessor family is designed to broaden the x86 CPU market by offering a well-balanced combination of price, performance, multimedia features and power not already found in the x86 CPU market. Rise is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with offices located in Taipei and Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. The company can be reached at [phone] or visit their corporate web site http://www.rise.com.

Note to Editors: The Rise and mP6 logos are registered trademarks of Rise Technology Company. Intel, Celeron, and MMX(TM) are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brands and products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.