March 10, 1997 10:00 AM ET
Pentium II, desktops, M2 all on tap for CeBIT
By Lisa DiCarlo

The fat and thin client will be the talk of Hannover, Germany, this week at the CeBIT trade show as rival vendors, including Intel Corp. and Cyrix Corp., and Compaq Computer Corp. and IBM Personal Computer Co., demonstrate the latest processor and PC technologies. Before the show begins on Wednesday, Intel will give its first public demonstration of the Pentium II, formerly known as Klamath, officials said. PC makers such as Compaq, IBM, Gateway 2000 Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Computer Corp. will showcase their Pentium II systems. Neither Intel nor the OEMs will disclose benchmark, pricing or configuration information. However, sources said the initial Pentium II will run at 233MHz, with a 266MHz version due by year's end. What's happening at CeBIT 97 Intel to demonstrate Pentium II processor OEMs to show Pentium-based PCs Cyrix to privately show M2 processor IBM to privately show next-generation Professional Workstation In addition, Intel will announce enhancements to its Wired for Management initiative, sources said. Intel already has licensed IBM's Wake-on-LAN technology, which lets administrators remotely turn on a PC. Sources said Intel also might announce it has licensed IBM's LAN Client Control remote configuration software for more centralized control. Meanwhile, Cyrix will give the first demonstration, behind closed doors, of its MMX competitor, the M2 processor, said Steve Tobak, vice president of corporate and channel marketing at Cyrix, in Richardson, Texas. The M2 is built on a 6x86 core and includes multimedia instructions that boost audio and video performance. Cyrix is due to release the chip in the first half of the year. Other CeBIT announcements include the following: Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will show its K6 processor, due the first week of April, sources said. IBM will give private demonstrations of its next-generation dual-processor Professional Workstations, sources said. German giant Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems Inc. will announce a Java-based network computer for the European market. Copyright(c) 1997 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week