The First CPU with an IGP

Archer0915 · Sep 6, 2011

So I was reminising about my old 166 MMX the other day and remembered my choices were AMD, Cyrix and Intel. Well I rememder wanting the media GX some kind if bad but it never happened.

Anyway Cyrix was the first with the IGP on the CPU pachage. I just thought this was kind of neat triva.

Bobnova · Sep 6, 2011

Really? I didn't think that happened until quite recently.
All the setups in that era that I saw with a GPU built in somewhere the GPU was on the mobo (generally in it's own separate section even!).

Archer0915 · Sep 7, 2011

Graphics are handled by a dedicated pipeline on the CPU itself and the display controller is also on the main processor. There is no video memory, the frame buffer being stored in main memory without the performance degradation associated with traditional Unified Memory Architecture (UMA), using instead Cyrix's own Display Compression Technology (DCT). VGA data operations are handled in hardware, but VGA registers and controls are controlled through Cyrix's Virtual System Architecture (VSA) software.

http://www.pctechguide.com/cyrix-cpus/cyrix-mediagx

The MediaGX CPU was an x86 processor manufactured and designed by Cyrix and later after merger manufactured by National Semiconductor, and was introduced in 1997. The core is based on the integration of the Cyrix Cx5x86 CPU core with hardware to process video and audio output (XpressRAM, XpressGRAPHICS, XpressAUDIO). Following the buyout of Cyrix by National Semiconductor and the sale of the Cyrix name and trademarks to VIA Technologies, the core was developed by National Semiconductor into the Geode line of processors, which was subsequently sold to Advanced Micro Devices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaGX

And then the Geode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geode_(processor)

David · Sep 7, 2011

Was it really a 'GPU' as such? I thought GPUs themselves only appeared when the GeForce series came onto the market?

EDIT:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit

The term was defined and popularized by Nvidia in 1999, who marketed the GeForce 256 as "the world's first 'GPU', or Graphics Processing Unit, a single-chip processor with integrated transform, lighting, triangle setup/clipping, and rendering engines that is capable of processing a minimum of 10 million polygons per second."

Archer0915 · Sep 7, 2011

David said:
Was it really a 'GPU' as such? I thought GPUs themselves only appeared when the GeForce series came onto the market?

EDIT:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit

Well no it was not a GPU it was graphics and graphics has just morphed to GPU because of the evolution of the technology. Just a technicality but it was still GFX delivered via the CPU.

Bobnova · Sep 8, 2011

Glorious! Learn something new every day. Thanks for that, Archer!

Theocnoob · Sep 17, 2011

Archer0915 said:

Wow. EDO RAM.
I bet we have a lot of members who don't even remember EDO RAM, let along (gasp) FP...

E_tron · Sep 24, 2011

Wow, I had no idea Cyrix build and shipped a product like that. Those were the days.

It's amazing that chips from the early 90's can still execute code compiled today (assuming SME's aren't used).

hooflung · Oct 13, 2011

I built several for clients back in the day. Though I happily ran my Cyrix 6x86MX-PR233, 32mb of EDO and a Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 (later upgraded this very box to Voodoo 3 2000).

Those were the days. They had no idea they would find processes to limit voltage leaks. Every computer shopper had some article about why chips were so lame mhz wise and it was electrically impossible to break the 1000mhz limit.

Now we have GPU's built into 3+ ghz CPUs. lol

Soverntear · Oct 17, 2011

I wonder how it would bench

The First CPU with an IGP

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