Cyrix turns out clone chip on cue

Chip-maker Cyrix is rolling out its 200MHz 6x86 clone this week as predicted as well as outlining its future strategies for chips and multimedia.

But the news comes as some distributors report a shortage of 5x86 processors, claiming that it has been discontinued.

One said: 'It's hard to get official supplies of 5x86 chips, but as there are something like 150,000 sitting around on shelves, we'll see them in the market for a while.'

The difference, he said, between IBM Microelectronics and Cyrix 5x86 chips is the type of heat sink that is added in the branding process.

The three major clone manufacturers - AMD, Cyrix and IBM Microelectronics - have all been forced to license the multimedia MMX technology from Intel to retain compatibility.