“The Merced chip design has been completed… samples of the
new 64-bit processor this quarter. …high volumes by
mid-2000. …will compete more directly with chips such as the
UltraSparc from Sun Microsystems and the Alpha from Compaq
Computer.”
“Many expect Intel’s 64-bit chips to take off not with Merced,
but with McKinley, its successor due in late 2000. Merced will
likely come out at 800 MHz… McKinley, however, will start at 1GHz
(1,000 MHz) and offer twice the overall performance…”
“One competitor to Merced is UltraSparc III, code-named Cheetah,
from Sun, though Sun will continue to sell software for Intel-based
servers as well.”