🚀 go-pugleaf

gme...@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (GM Enierga) writes:

>>Actually, oh skeptical one, Intel looks like they will make the P6 by next
>>summer, or at the latest the fall.
>>Meanwhile, Intel and HP are both working on the P7, and they are shooting for
>>a very new architecture, not CISC or RISC (don't ask how), which will still be
>>compatible with the Pentium and 486 chips of today.

>	This is strange - I heard that what you describe above (Intel & HP
>thing) will actually be the P6/686 chip.

Nah, Intel already began work on the P6 before the marriage with HP.  The
fruits of that alliance will be the P7, which is due around the time I get
out of grad school (considering I go).


>>By the way, people are now saying that Origin is going to be "all Pentium."  I
>>really don't see how this will exclude the 486 market, since the Pentium only
>>has one instruction more than the 486.  In other words, what works on the
>>Pentium also works on 486's.

>	Not necessarily... if the Pentium's abilities are utilised fully, then
>the 486 will NOT - because the pentium is like 2 chips in one, ie 2 general
>processing chips in one, not a beefed up 486 and co-pro.

Some people have called the Pentium "two 486's working together."  That's not
true; it's a lot more complicated than that, and it's pretty tough to explain.


>>Also, games optimized for the Pentium does not mean that it will not work on a
>>486.  Optimization means that the compiler makes code that will utilize the
>>strengths of the Pentium to full advantage, like the branch prediction, dual
>>pipelining, and on-chip caches.  It just so happens that this kind of code can
>>also benefit the 486, since it has its own on-chip cache.

>	How can it benefit the 486?

The 486 has a single pipeline, so optimized code will flow through the 486
more smoothly.  The performance benefits, however, will be offset by the
slowdown caused by using code that was intended for the Pentium, so the
overall benefits will be negligible.


>>So us "scrubs" with the obsolete 486 systems don't have to worry for a while.
>>After all, Intel is still developing for the 486 architecture; just look at the
>>new DX4 Overdrive that they released a week ago.
>>			- Allen "Ninja" Kim

>	But do they have the motherboards to take advantage of this new chip
>speed YET?  Here in Oz we are still waiting for something like that to become
>available (in other words, what's the point of putting legs on a fish if the
>fish is never going to walk on land?)

Oh, but you CAN use these new DX4 Overdrives in most existing boards.  If
you have a DX/33 or DX2/66 with a ZIF socket, chances are good that you can
remove the chip and plop in the DX4, since both chips operate on a 33 MHz
bus.  If you have an SX/25 or a DX/50 (in my case), usually there will be
a jumper that can change the bus speed to a 33 MHz setting.

And if you're wondering about voltage, yes the DX4 is 3.3V while existing
motherboards are 5V.  That's why the DX4 has an on-chip voltage regulator
so that it can work on 5V motherboards.

			- Allen "Ninja" Kim