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From: davidsen@sixhub.UUCP (Wm E. Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Math coprocessors --- basic info needed
Message-ID: <2555@sixhub.UUCP>
Date: 10 Dec 90 02:52:43 GMT
References: <27265.275d7c84@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
Reply-To: davidsen@sixhub.UUCP (bill davidsen)
Organization: *IX Public Access UNIX, Schenectady NY
Lines: 31

In article <27265.275d7c84@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> huff@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Steve Huff, University of Kansas, Lawrence) writes:

| 	1.	I have heard of other companies besides Intel
| 		that produce and sell them.  Any recommendations?
| 		Costs?  Compatibility?

  The vendors are Cyrix and IIT. I don't know about IIT, but Cyrix wants
the timing to within spec, while Intel will definitely run with some out
of spec timing, such as a 40/60 duty cycle instead of 50/50 on the
clock. Sorry, I don't remember which is specified and which will still
work...

  Anyway, with a good motherboard any of them will work. I have used a
few of the Cyrix clone of the 387SX (part # not handy). It was a hard
choice, the Cyrix is less expensive, lower power (CMOS), and and faster
at the same clock speed. I didn't have to think very hard about it. Cost
$231 for the last one.

| 	2.	Is there any way to fool a program (e.g. CAD)
| 		into thinking a math coprocessor exists when it
| 		really doesn't?  Besides the extreme delay in
| 		running everything through the 386, would it
| 		cause any other problems?

  There are a few emulators around, I think on simtel20. I don't have
their list here. It will be painfully, unbearably slow.
-- 
bill davidsen - davidsen@sixhub.uucp (uunet!crdgw1!sixhub!davidsen)
    sysop *IX BBS and Public Access UNIX
    moderator of comp.binaries.ibm.pc and 80386 mailing list
"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me