Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!hpsgpa!plim
From: plim@hpsgpa.HP.COM (Peter Lim)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: V20 vs. 8088: Is there any useful difference?
Message-ID: <340001@hpsgpa.HP.COM>
Date: 17 Jul 89 07:46:35 GMT
References: <2305@deimos.cis.ksu.edu>
Organization: HP Singapore IC Design Ctr
Lines: 23

Well, I happened to have used a V20 for about a year 3 years ago.
I think the bottom line is that running normal software (i.e.
those not custom made to use V20 string handling instructions),
you get about 5% performance improvement. No big deal, but then
I was paying only A$25 for one (beggars can't complain, right ?).
I can't even remember the software I used to confirm the 5%
performance improvement (I think it was something written in
Turbo Pascal). From what I heard, the insignificant performance
improvement is due to the fact that the 8088 bus in the PC/XT is
already very congested (somewhere around 80-90 % duty cycle), so
you can't push much more data through. Not so for the V30 due
to the more under-utilized 8086 bus.

I hope the above helps. I would put a V20 in if I am using an XT.
The cost is almost zero and sloooooooowwwww XT could certainly
use any speeding up it can get (what happens to the good-old-days
when an XT with CGA is very good, and EGA is heaven sent ?  :-)).


Regards,
Peter Lim.
ICDS,  HP Singapore
(* EVERY WORD HERE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY EMPLOYER *)