Cyrix to Sell Clones of Intel 486 Chips

Cyrix Corp. said Tuesday it would enter the microprocessor market in a challenge to Intel Corp., which for years has been the premier manufacturer of personal computer chips.

Intel stock dropped as word spread on Wall Street that Cyrix had developed a full line of clones of the Intel 486--now emerging as the next popular PC chip. Intel closed at $61.25 in heavy over-the-counter trading, down $2 a share.

Cyrix spokeswoman Michelle Moody said the company would unveil its first microprocessor chip next month, but she declined further comment.

An industry analyst said Cyrix’s first product would be a chip with the high performance of Intel’s 486SX that fits into sockets holding 386 chips, the current generation microprocessor and Intel’s best-selling product.

“The cost will be less than half of Intel’s 486, which will obviously put some pricing pressure on the market,” said Drew Peck, an analyst with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York.

Intel spokeswoman Pam Pollace said the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company had no comment on the stock activity or on Cyrix.

Two Silicon Valley companies, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Chips & Technologies Inc., have become Intel’s chief rivals in microprocessors.

Cyrix, a privately held company based in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, announced some of its plans in a phone conference with industry analysts.

Intel and Cyrix are locked in a patent dispute over the first Cyrix products, specialized chips for math functions. They broke Intel’s virtual lock on that market.

The life cycle for the math chip is nearing an end, and Cyrix for several months has indicated it is developing other products.