- AMD needed a solution to product flaws
- NexGen produced some powerful equipment
- The company used a unique x86 architecture.
NexGen was among the most successful American semiconductor companies during a boom in the 1980s.
Based in Milpitas, California, the company has earned a reputation for its rather unique implementation of the x86 architecture in its processors.
In particular, the CPUs developed by NexGen execute code on the chip’s internal RISC architecture rather than translating code that is then executed on the CISC-based x86 architecture.
It was a design that distinguished the company at the time and caught the attention of some of the industry’s biggest players in the years that followed. Better yet, the design of its flagship processor paved the way for the resurgence of one of the industry’s most important manufacturers.
Here you will find everything you need to know about NexGen.
NexGen’s plan to challenge Intel
The company was founded in 1986 by Thampy Thomas, who had previously co-founded Elxski, a California-based minicomputer manufacturer. NexGen was a fabless design house, relying on other companies for its products, with chips produced by IBM’s Microelectronics division in Vermont.
NexGen had big backers in the early days, most notably Compaq, ASCII, and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.
It’s safe to say that NexGen had Intel in its sights. Its first design was aimed specifically at the Intel 80286 (i386) line of processors, but early production challenges meant it was unable to launch a challenge.
With its second product line, the Nx587, NexGen intended to mount a direct challenge to the Intel Pentium line. However, there was a big obstacle here.
Other chips on the market that competed with Intel, such as those from AMD and Cyrix, were pin compatible with both the Pentium range and other Intel chips.
The Nx586 was not and instead required its own custom motherboard and chipset. Regardless, the Nx586’s performance was impressive. The Nx586-P80 CPU, for example, could go toe-to-toe with the Pentium range, clocking in at 75MHz.
It wasn’t exactly a success, but it did see some business acceptance, especially from Compaq. However, its performance caught AMD’s attention, and the chip giant began to circle the wagons.
AMD knocks on the door
Shortly after NexGen went public in 1994, AMD came knocking with a major offer. Sales of the chip giant’s K5 range of chips had fallen amid sluggish performance and efficiency.
Seeking a solution to the problem, AMD acquired NexGen for $850 million in 1995 and quickly began work to integrate the company’s designs into its own successor range.
AMD’s K6 range was largely based on the Nx686 design and when launched in 1997 represented a serious challenge to Intel’s Pentium dominance. The microprocessor was specifically designed to integrate with existing desktop designs that used Pentium CPUs.
In addition, it was a powerful team for the time. The initial version reached speeds of up to 200MHz, and a 233MHz version will be released later this year.
