🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3aru0n$1...@scapa.cs.ualberta.ca>,
Michael Lewchuk <lew...@cs.ualberta.ca> wrote:

>How can you combine CISC and RISC efficiently?  Eliminate all medium-level
>instructions and have just the basics and some very complex instructions?

	(grin) They tried to explain it in PC Week but I didn't understand it.
=)  Let me see if I can go back to the SEAS library and find out which issue
it's in.

>> [ .... PowerPC emulates 386DX software, 486DX hardware ...]
>>	Origin can conceivably write games for PowerPC.
>
>Yes, but I still don't believe that it will induce Origin to drop the 486
>market.  On the contrary, it will induce Origin to stick with 486s.  While
>they could develop PowerPC-specific code, the question is "will the market
>support PowerPC versions of WC3?".

	Agreed.  The DOS segment of the market is where the money is,
considering that it makes up 70% of desktop machines presently in use.
Thus far, I think PowerPC machines are still mainly "serious" machines,
be it PowerMac or IBM RS/6000s...  High-powered boxes intended for
academia, business, research, professional graphics, etc...  Not for the
home.  It's not something that one buys for the kids to bang around with,
at least, not yet.  So you are probably right in questioning the existance
of a market for real complex games written in native PowerPC code.

>Well, here in Canada, the Pentiums are still $3000+, and the 486DX4s are still
>under $3000 for a reasonably efficient system, I believe.  Most of the stores
>I deal with are still selling only DX2s and DX4s and the occasional SX2.

	Oops!  I often forget that my posts crosses borders!  (sheepish grin)
But yes, Pentium prices are dropping precipitously here in the States.  Are
there import restrictions and such for you guys when buying computers down
here by mail order from places like Dell or GW2K?

>Cute.  I'll have to take a look at my motherboard, but on the other hand I'll
>probably just replace the entire motherboard.  I don't have local-bus graphics
>and without it the extra CPU power would probably be meaningless unless
>advanced versions of Windows (should I want to buy them) become REAL CPU HOGS.

	Ah...  Yes, in this case it would definitely be worth it to upgrade
your motherboard, if just to update the bus architecture.  Local bus is fast
becoming a necessity these days due to the increased demands software makes
on our machines.  As far as motherboard swaps go, you can get a pretty good
VESA Local Bus motherboard for $150 in the States...  Here in New York City
my supplier gives them to me for $100 apiece.  However, you would have to
make two additional investments--  A good VLB video card and a VLB hard disk
controller (IDE or SCSI depending on which one you have) and *those* are the
major expenses of the upgrade.

>>	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.
>
>Ah.  And this is what makes the corner-store computer dealer possible, eh?

	Yep!  Except I don't even have a corner-store!  (grin)

TRH Sends