Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!linac!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen
From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.COM (Wm E Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: processor for graphics terminal [was: PC/AT clones with RISC cpu]
Message-ID: <2853@crdos1.crd.ge.COM>
Date: 7 Nov 90 14:42:51 GMT
References: <2081@aber-cs.UUCP> <0093F0E4.0B02A980@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> <1990Nov3.235115.21250@zoo.toronto.edu> <5530@labtam.labtam.oz> <1990Nov6.101902.9683@canterbury.ac.nz> <2PX6KJ@xds13.ferranti.com>
Reply-To: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (bill davidsen)
Organization: GE Corp R&D Center, Schenectady NY
Lines: 15

In article <2PX6KJ@xds13.ferranti.com> peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes:

| I personally can't think of anything off the top of my head that a 286
| based PC offers that I want. What are you talking about here? For running
| MS-DOS software, an 8088 based PC is fine. For anything else, a 68000
| based PC is much better.

  If you want UNIX+DOS capability the 80486 seems most cost effective.
If you want just UNIX, or must have BSD, you are probably better off
with a RISC machine. Until the 68040 is available the 68k family seems
to be slightly down on performance relative to the 486 and RISC
machines.
-- 
bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
      The Twin Peaks Halloween costume: stark naked in a body bag