Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
From: greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: FACTS ABOUT WB2.0 (Was: Re:WB2.0 for non-A3000)
Message-ID: <44970@ut-emx.uucp>
Date: 2 Mar 91 05:00:16 GMT
References: <1991Feb16.014403.11533@NCoast.ORG> <1991Feb17.004210.5827@sugar.hackercorp.com> <1991Feb22.014212.681@NCoast.ORG> <1991Mar1.120528.2418@sugar.hackercorp.com>
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Reply-To: greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Greg Harp)
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin
Lines: 29

In article <1991Mar1.120528.2418@sugar.hackercorp.com> peter@sugar.hackercorp.com 
  (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <1991Feb22.014212.681@NCoast.ORG> davewt@NCoast.ORG (David Wright) 
  writes:
>> 	Sure you can, and it will be:
>> 		16-bit, with no way to ever go to 32-bit.
>
>What do you mean by this? The 80386SX is *purely* a 32-bit CPU inside. This
>is strictly a performance consideration... the VGA sucks from that viewpoint
>too. The point I'm making is that it *is* available, and *does* work. And the
>80386 is far enough up the curve of intels slugfest with real processors that
>you won't be hurting too much.

So what if the SX is 32 bits internally?  The 68k is too, and that doesn't
make it fast.  I think the point here is that if you get into an ISA bus 
system, even if it has a true 32-bit 386 in it, you're going to have to deal
with the slowness of the 16-bit bus.  The 386SX is a crippled chip that Intel 
made to satisfy a market need for cheap, low-end architectures.  It's not 
even competitive with a real 386.

If internal 32 bit, external 16 bit was an acceptable setup Sun would 
still be making and selling Sun 2/50's and the like.

Greg
-- 
       Greg Harp       |"How I wish, how I wish you were here.  We're just two
                       |lost souls swimming in a fishbowl, year after year,
greg@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu|running over the same ground.  What have we found?
  s609@cs.utexas.edu   |The same old fears.  Wish you were here." - Pink Floyd