🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3arcil$e...@scapa.cs.ualberta.ca>,
Michael Lewchuk <lew...@cs.ualberta.ca> wrote:

>You mean HP+Intel = a really nice CPU?  Btw, what improvements will the 686
>have over the 486 and 586 class processors?

	Yep!  According to the industry paper PC Week, Intel is teaming up 
with HP to develop a wholly-RISC processor that will be two generations ahead
of current Pentiums.  While HP will provide its know-how from its PA-RISC
processors, Intel will have the fab capacity and addition research to make it
compatible with previous generations' software.  The P6 generation being
developed right now is indeed Intel's in-house, and will be a hybrid CISC-
RISC chip.  Expect the P7 to be released sometime in 1998.

>Oh, btw, regarding Falcon's comments about the PowerPC coming out: although
>the PowerPC is competitive with the 586 line, it has its own instruction set
>and is not (to my knowlege) 586 compatible.  It may be 486 compatible with
>translation software.  I'm not sure, though.  Any PowerPC people out there?

	Yep...  Currently one will need a software emulator called Soft-
Windows to run DOS stuff on an unmodified PowerMac.  It does not even do
386enhanced mode and runs about the same speed as a fast 386.  There are
hardware cards with Intel 486 chips on-board for the PowerMac (September
Computer Shopper, if I'm not mistaken), but I don't know how well they
work.

	Origin can conceivably write games for PowerPC.

>Pentiums, and I don't think Origin will go Pentium-only any time soon
>because of the vast number of powerful 486 class processors which can
>sometimes outperform the low-grade pentiums, at a significantly lower price.

	That's gonna change pretty soon...  Pentiums are gonna start getting
dirt-cheap.  Scarcely a month ago a Pentium-90 chip cost $800.  Now it's
$580.  By January a P54C-90 shouldn't cost more than $450.

>I'll have to check; I think mine's attached to the motherboard itself.  Anyone
>got wire cutters? :)

	Good news here...  Most 486s don't have their 486 chips soldered on-
board.  They are usually thumb-pressed into a high-insertion-force socket or
locked into place with a zero-insertion-force socket.  I think yours is
probably the former.  It just takes a little judicious prying with a 
jeweler's screwdriver.  =)  I did several of those (losing a pint of blood
in the process because of cuts from jagged soldering everywhere inside a
computer) for my clients...  It's not hard, but can be a bit painful at times.
(grin)  And if you buy the OverDrive package, it comes with a chip puller!

	The reason why they are not usually soldered in place is because your
reseller don't pop in the chip until they know which flavor you want when you
bought your computer; these motherboards are usually designed to take 
processors running at various speeds.

TRH Sends