21918B/0—October 1999
AMD-K6
-
III
Processor Data Sheet
Chapter 1
AMD-K6
-
III
Processor
3
The AMD-K6-III processor is x
86 binary code compatible. AMD’s extensive
experience through six generations of x86 processors has been carefully integrated
into the processor to enable compatibility with Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows
3.x, Windows NT, DOS, OS/2, Unix, Solaris, NetWare
, Vines, and other leading x86
operating systems and applications. The AMD-K6-III processor is Super7 and
Socket7-compatible. The Super7 platform is an extension to the popular and robust
Socket 7 platform. See “Super7 Platform Initiative” for more information.
AMD is the world’s second-leading supplier of Windows-compatible PC processors,
having shipped more than 120 million x86 microprocessors, including more than 60
million Windows-compatible processors. The AMD-K6-III processor is the latest
member in this long line of processors. With its combination of state-of-the-art
features, industry-leading performance, high-performance 3DNow! technology and
multimedia engines, x86 compatibility, and low-cost infrastructure, the AMD-K6-III is
the superior choice for performance PCs.
1.1
Super7 Platform Initiative
AMD and its industry partners launched the Super7
platform initiative in order to
maintain the competitive vitality of the Socket 7 infrastructure through a series of
enhancements, including the development of an industry-standard 100-MHz
processor bus protocol.
In addition to the 100-MHz processor bus protocol, the Super7 initiative includes the
introduction of chipsets that support the AGP specification, and support for a
backside L2 cache and frontside L3 cache. Currently, over 40 motherboard vendors
and all major BIOS and chipset vendors offer Super7-based products.
Super7 Platform Enhancements
The Super7 platform has the following enhancements:
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100-MHz processor bus
—The AMD-K6-III processor supports a 100-MHz, 800
Mbyte/second frontside bus to provide a high-speed interface to Super7
platform-based chipsets. The 100-MHz interface to the frontside cache and main
system memory speeds up access to the frontside cache and main memory by 50
percent over the 66-MHz Socket 7 interface—resulting in a significant increase of
10% in overall system performance.
Accelerated graphics port support
—AGP improves the performance of mid-range
PCs that have small amounts of video memory on the graphics card. The
industry-standard AGP specification enables a 133-MHz graphics interface and
will scale to even higher levels of performance.
Support for backside L2 and frontside L3 cache
—The Super7 platform has the
‘headroom’ to support higher-performance AMD-K6 processors, with clock speeds
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