Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!oddjob!gargoyle!ihnp4!cbosgd!clyde!burl!codas!peora!joel
From: joel@peora.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Norton SI vs Reality
Message-ID: <2635@peora.ccur.com>
Date: 16 Dec 87 14:28:04 GMT
References: <1098@quacky.UUCP> <580@netxcom.UUCP>
Organization: Concurrent Computer Corporation, Orlando, Fl
Lines: 27
Keywords: norton,SI
Summary: V20 does speed up Windows

> In point of fact, the V20/V30 can be MUCH faster given any application
> which makes extensive use of 186 enhancements.  When I upgraded my PC Clone
> from an 8088 to a V20, I was literally awed by how much faster Windows ran.
> PC-Paint also looked a lot faster.
> 
> Sysinfo may not be the best standard, but isn't it better to leave it
> consistent, than to make subsequent versions incompatible, and therefore
> incomparable?
> 
> John Allen

I noticed the speedup with Windows on the V20 also. I suspect that the
improvement may be caused by a lot of shift and rotate type instructions
in the display driver. The V20 runs these instructions about 2 to 3 times
faster than the 8088. It makes Windows tolerable on a 8MHz clone.

One point I haven't seen mentioned is that the Norton SI also distorts the
results for 80286 based machines also, since the instructions that run
faster on the V20 also run faster on 286. Thus these ridiculous double
digit SI ratings on a lot of the 286 clones.

For speeding up Windows you might be better off getting a faster display
card like the new one from Thomson.
-- 
   Joel Upchurch @ CONCURRENT Computer Corporation (305-850-1040)
   Southern Development Center/2486 Sand Lake Road/ Orlando, Florida 32809
   {decvax!ucf-cs, ihnp4!pesnta, vax135!petsd, akgua!codas}!peora!joel