Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!samsung!usc!srhqla!demott!kdq
From: kdq@demott.COM (Kevin D. Quitt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Why The Move To RISC Architectures? (and meaningless MIPS)
Message-ID: <94@demott.COM>
Date: 22 Mar 90 18:47:12 GMT
References: <1990Mar21.230854.318@ico.isc.com>
Reply-To: kdq@demott.COM (Kevin D. Quitt)
Organization: DeMott Electronics Co., Van Nuys CA
Lines: 31


    Meaningless
    Information
    Provided by
    Salesmen

    Motorola published an excellent article on the perils of MIPS, by
comparing code fragments between the 68010 and 68020.  Given that these
are closer in architecture than most other comparisons, this case outght
to be straightforward. 

    The article demonstrated code that ran on the 68010, and compared it
with functionally identical code on the 68020.  The 68020 code was about
half the size, and took 1/3 the time to run, but the MIPS rating for the
'10 was about double that for the '20!

    Even 'normalized' MIPS are pretty meaningless, as several other
articles have mentioned.  (And no, not everybody normalizes to VAX MIPS,
otherwise, how could a RISC machine have a MIPS rating equivalent to its
clock?)

kdq
-- 

Kevin D. Quitt                          Manager, Software Development
DeMott Electronics Co.                  VOICE (818) 988-4975
14707 Keswick St.                       FAX   (818) 997-1190
Van Nuys, CA  91405-1266                MODEM (818) 997-4496 Telebit PEP last
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