Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!midway!msuinfo!buster.cps.msu.edu!draper From: draper@buster.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Draper) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: 249 hours to generate MANDELBROT image on 286 Message-ID: <1991May2.142752.23003@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> Date: 2 May 91 14:27:52 GMT References: <14697@encore.Encore.COM> <1991May2.124542.21865@engin.umich.edu> Sender: news@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu Reply-To: draper@buster.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Draper) Distribution: usa Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University Lines: 47 Originator: draper@buster.cps.msu.edu In article <1991May2.124542.21865@engin.umich.edu> jal@acc.flint.umich.edu (John Lauro) writes: >In article <14697@encore.Encore.COM> rnollman@maxzilla.encore.com (Richard Nollman) writes: >> >> my 286 his 386 >> ------ ------- >> >> 8 mghz 33 mghz >> >> no cachex 64K cache >> >> 16-bit I/O bus 32-bit I/O bus >> >> no math coprocessor math coprocessor >> >> 249 hours to 3 hours to calculate >> calculate >> >> >>Where should I best spend my money to upgrade (best bang for buck)? >>Where am I losing the most processing speed? >> > >The most bang for the buck in terms of fractint would be >to get a math coprocessor. (A 4mhz PC with an 8087 is >several times faster than an 80287 without for floating point >calculations.) > >If you want to really improve speed, get a 486. Isn't there an option to use either integer or floating point math? If so, a coprocessor wouldn't save you anything in the integer mode. The time gap is WAY too large here to be explained by clock speed or the higher efficiency of a 386. As everyone knows, a 386 is only marginally faster than a 286 at the same clock speed, running a 16bit system like DOS. I'll bet that your friend's 386 is coonfigured for integer math, and the 286 machine is configured for floating point math. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Patrick Draper "College is supposed to prepare you for the future, cps.msu.edu but all my future's behind me." draper@cps.msu.edu -- My GrandPa, age 85, Fall 1990 graduate of Western Michigan University ------------------------------------------------------------------------