Intel’s (for now) last graphics chip and AMD’s last K5 (PCGH-Retro. 19 Aug)

…1997: AMD’s K5 series enjoyed a mixed reputation – good for office applications, but “not” for games. Although it is one of the most clock-efficient CPUs of its time and, despite lower operating frequencies, it is often faster than a Pentium processor in common office tasks, but it is hopelessly behind when it comes to floating-point arithmetic. When the beat is equal, it often beats its successor, the K6. That’s why AMD also introduces a so-called P rating, a fictitious number intended to suggest performance parity with a Pentium processor. A K5 PR166 should therefore be able to hold a candle to a Pentium with 166 MHz. The only problem are those clock frequencies. Despite the high level of efficiency, the fastest, officially available K5 processors are clocked at just 116.7 MHz ex works. A very small number of 133 MHz fast PR200 variants are in circulation, but were only launched when AMD already had the successor K6 on the market. On August 19, the manufacturer AMD finally announced the end of the K5 CPUs: No more processors are to roll off the assembly line, only existing orders are still being processed. This clears the way for the quick successors to the K6 architecture purchased via Nexgen.

…1999: In February 1998, after two years of development, Intel brought its first “own” graphics chip onto the market, which could not only be used in mainboard chipsets, but also on separate graphics cards: the i740. Developed jointly with Real 3D under the code name Starfighter, it was definitely up to date, combining 2D and 3D functions and using the modern AGP 2x slot. But it was not a success – the competition from Ati, 3dfx and Nvidia was far too strong; the fact that the i740 stored textures in the slow main memory also slowed it down. Significant quantities could only be sold at low prices in Asia. The same fate befell the successor i752, which certainly couldn’t keep up with the competition and was found more often on mainboards than on cards. Intel draws the conclusion from this and on August 19, 1999 confirms reports about the exit from the market for independent 3D graphics solutions. Real 3D closes its doors in October, the remainder goes into Intel ownership; Successors to the i740 and i752, such as the GMA series, are only integrated into mainboard chipsets. Intel didn’t want to re-enter the graphics card market until about ten years later: with Larrabee – but nothing came of it either.