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Intel is not inside

After a deal with National Semiconductor, HCL Infosystems has agreed to prefer the Cyrix CPU to the Intel chips for its Busybee range of PCs.

In July, the $3-billion National Semiconductor acquired Cyrix Corporation, a microprocessors supplier to the PC industry.

National Semiconductor Country Manager Jayant Bhat is reported to have said that "The systems which are being configured around the Cyrix 686 range, an equivalent of Intel's MMX 200, are likely to be launched this month.''

It is understood that initially, at least, HCL Infosystems would sell its systems at the existing price of Rs 27,000. But a National Semiconductor executive claims that the Cyrix CPU would add more value at the price by bring in a higher clock speed.

Bhat has said National Semiconductor will soon help HCL Infosystems configure a system based on Cyrix's Media GX which will further drive down the prices.

For now, National Semiconductor will be shipping about 1,000 CPUs to HCL Infosystems per month. For National Semiconductor, the agreement with HCL Infosystems is its first major breakthrough after stating last month that it is in talks with branded and unbranded players in India to bring out a sub-Rs 28,000 PC with multimedia capabilities. These machines would use Media GX and aim for the entry-level segment.

Bhat is confident that National Semiconductor can help Indian players bring out a Rs 25,000 PC later.

ACI is the only distributor for Cyrix CPUs in India today.

Meanwhile, the company has also closed deals with Minicomp and PCS Limited, which will put Cyrix CPUs into their systems too.

- Compiled from the Indian media

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