Compaq picks Cyrix GX for multimedia range

The first signs that Intel could be fighting a protest from PC vendors have appeared with the decision by Compaq to base a range of multimedia computers on the Cyrix GX chip.

Although Compaq has used non-Intel chips before, notably from AMD, the machines will offer a processor which includes sound and graphics capabilities. This means Compaq can offer a machine at a far lower price than its competitors, which still rely on a range of peripherals such as sound cards and graphics boards, which push up the price of a PC.

Compaq declined to give details of pricing. In the US at least, however, the machines are expected to cost far less than most multimedia machines, such as those based on the Intel P120, which cost #999 in the UK.

Cyrix GX chips were designed by Tom Brightman and his team in Boulder, Colorado, to fight off Intel?s domination of the consumer market. The GX chips do not appear to include the MMX extensions Brightman?s team developed independently of Intel.

Compaq will this week introduce Deskpros based on Intel?s MMX Pentium.