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From: lair@ellis.uchicago.edu (Scott A. Laird)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: 486SX - Intel now telling lies
Message-ID: <1991May15.234209.9370@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 15 May 91 23:42:09 GMT
References: <21020.282f6b40@oregon.uoregon.edu> <1991May14.200856.1431@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <1991May15.210339.17118@unlv.edu>
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In article <1991May15.210339.17118@unlv.edu> whitney@jimi.cs.unlv.edu (Lee Whitney) writes:
>If you have been following the threads on the 486sx you have probably
>heard alot of negative response to Intel's market ploys.  Even though I'm
>sure some of the response has gotten back to Intel, they obviously are
>not concerned with their credibility if they are making statements
>like this one printed Computer Reseller News, May 6 1991:
>
>
>According to David House, president of Intel's Microcomputer
>Components Group in Santa Clara,
>
> ....  In addition, the 20Mhz 486sx chip delivers a 40 percent greater
>performance than the 33Mhz 386 processor.  The rate of change from
>386-based systems to 486sx-based systems is expected to occur rapidly.
>
>
>Sure it will occur rapidly with statements like that!  Maybe I'm
>jumping the gun in accusing Intel, but is there any objective evidence
>to substantiate this claim?  Does anyone else have an idea as to the
>performance difference between the 486sx-20 and the 386-33?

I believe the 'actual' performance difference, running DOS apps, between a
386-33 and a 486-25 is about 10-20%, sometimes much higher, depending on
what is does.  The normal figure is 10%-20%, though.  At that, a 386-*25*
should be able to outperform the 486sx.  Running 32-bit apps, the 486sx 
should be faster, from what I've read, but I'd take a 386-40 over it any
day, even if Intel made them both.  Of course, Intel doesn't, and that's
why we have a 486SX.  Now where's that am486?

Scott.


-- 
Scott A. Laird            |  Any semblance of the above to anything is purely
lair@midway.uchicago.edu  |  coincidental, as it was the result of an infinite
The University of Chicago |  number of monkeys sneaking in to use my computer 
                          |  for the afternoon.