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From: tms@mtuxo.UUCP (t.slaight)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Apple SCSI HD20
Message-ID: <1986@mtuxo.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Sep-86 13:04:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: mtuxo.1986
Posted: Wed Sep 17 13:04:23 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Sep-86 23:35:36 EDT
References: <491@randvax.UUCP> <154@apple.UUCP> <1791@well.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 28

> 
> But on to the main point.  Price and performance.  The Apple IIGS costs
> $995, plus monitor and disk, which is $1600-$1900 list.  Okay, so
> maybe its $1400 at a discount.  But the Atari costs $1000, complete.
> The Apple IIGS runs at 3 MEGAHERTZ!  Thats slower than an IBM PC.
> My Bicycle can go faster than that.  It comes with 256K, expandable
> to 8 meg.  How can Apple sell a computer with one third the speed and
> one quarter the memory of an Atari 1040ST for 150% of the price?
> Is there some vital point I have missed?
> 
> David Shayer, WELL
> well!das

In response to the statement that the a 3 MHz 65816 is slower than
the 4.77 MHz 8088 used in an IBM. There is always a fundamental problem
when comparing processors: how many clocks are required to perform an
instruction cycle. A memory access cycle on a 4.77 MHz 8088 requires
4 clock cycles - or about 840 nanoseconds. A basic memory access on
a 3 Mhz 65816 requires 1 clock cycle - or about 333 nanoseconds.

It is easy to conclude from this that it is not enough to judge relative
performance on clock rates alone. I am pretty sure that a 65816 would
blow a 4.77 MHz 8088 out of the water under most circumstances. (with the
possible exception of some auto-looping string move instructions that the
8088 has)

(These opinions are my own)
						--- Tom Slaight