This chip maker mounted a challenge to Intel’s Pentium range – so AMD bought it

AMD needed a solution to product failures
NexGen produced some powerful equipment
The company used a unique x86 architecture

NexGen was among the highest flying semiconductor US companies during a boom time in the 1980s.

Based out of Milpitas in California, the company gained a reputation for its rather unique implementation of the x86 architecture in its processors.

Notably, CPUs developed by NexGen run code on the chip’s internal RISC architecture as opposed to translating code that was then run on the CISC-based x86 architecture.

It was a design that set the company apart at the time and drew the attention of some major industry players in years to come. Better still, its flagship processor design paved the way for a revival at one of the industries biggest manufacturers.

Here’s everything you need to know about NexGen.

NexGen’s plan to challenge Intel

The company was founded in 1986 by Thampy Thomas, who’d previously co-founded Elxski, a California-based minicomputer manufacturer. NexGen was a fabless design house, relying on other companies for product, with chips produced by IBM’s Microelectronics division in Vermont.

NexGen had some big backers during the early days, most notably Compaq, ASCII, and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins.

Intel in the crosshairs. Its first design specifically targeted Intel’s 80286 (i386) processor line, but early production challenges meant it failed to launch a challenge.

With its second product line, the Nx587, NexGen aimed to mount a direct challenge against the Intel Pentium line. There was a big stumbling block here, however.

Other chips on the market competing with Intel, such as those from AMD and Cyrix, were pin-compatible with both the Pentium range and other Intel chips.

The Nx586 wasn’t, and instead required its own custom-made motherboard and chipset. Regardless, the performance of the Nx586 was impressive. The Nx586-P80 CPU, for example, could go toe-to-toe with the Pentium range, clocking in at 75MHz.

It wasn’t exactly a hit, but did see some enterprise uptake, most notably from Compaq. Its performance did catch the eye of AMD, however, and the chip giant began circling the wagons.

AMD comes knocking

Shortly after NexGen went public in 1994, AMD came knocking with a significant offer. Sales of the chip giant’s K5 chip range had flopped amid sluggish performance and efficiency.

Eyeing up a solution to the problem, AMD acquired NexGen for $850 million in 1995 – and it quickly began working to integrate the firm’s designs into its own successor range.

AMD’s K6 range drew heavily from the Nx686 design and when launched in 1997 mounted a serious challenge to Intel’s Pentium dominance. The microprocessor was specifically designed to integrate with existing desktop designs which used Pentium CPUs.

Moreover, it was a powerful bit of kit for the time. The initial version clocked in at speeds of up to 200MHz, with a 233MHz version launching later in the year.