🚀 go-pugleaf

A few comments before I start:
Please please please if you want to spend time praising each others' comments
or yelling at each other, take it to email.  I have no desire to read
a Falcon vs. others squabble mixed in with useful info/speculation about CPUs.

ak...@crux4.cit.cornell.edu (Allen Kim) writes:

>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).

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

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?

In other words, I don't think the PowerPC will make Origin program for
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.

>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.

How about "A 586 can perform at a rate of 1 to 2 486s depending on the
nature and optimization of code"?

>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.

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

>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.

Ain't it wunnerful to be an engineer? :)

>			- Allen "Ninja" Kim

					Michael Lewchuk
					lew...@cs.UAlberta.CA