Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!unisoft!gethen!bdt!david From: david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: About Atari's, Mac's, and IBM's Message-ID: <213@bdt.UUCP> Date: 19 Apr 88 21:11:31 GMT References: <5419@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <226500010@trsvax> Reply-To: david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) Organization: Beckemeyer Development Tools, Oakland, CA Lines: 42 In article <226500010@trsvax> johnm@trsvax.UUCP writes: > >> Now I am finally looking at Ataris, but I have some questions >>that I hope you can answer: >>what is the processor? >The Motorola 68000. The same processor used in the Commodore Amiga and the >Apple Macintosh. (Comparable to the speed of an Intel 80286, which means >you would have to buy an IBM AT clone to have the same power.) The ST has more raw CPU horsepower than an 8MHZ 80286, if you ask me. But a 12Mhz 80286 AT clone has some advantages over the ST too (see below). >>How well does it emulate IBMs? >According to my friends, "Excellently!" I cannot judge because I do not have >PC Ditto. But remember that it's pretty slow becuase you're emulating a hardware with software running on a 8Mhz 68000 CPU. I think it's something like 50%-80% the speed of an old 4.77 Mhz IBM PC (which nobody uses anymore), and whole lot slower than an 8Mhz 8088. >>Can it use a Paged Memory Managment Unit? >You mean like swapping memory out to disk? No, there is no micro with that >facility that I know of. No micro you know of? How about those IBM AT clones you mentioned above? One big advantage the AT clones have over the ST hardware is that they have hardware memory management, and the ST doesn't. There are quite a few 80286 AT-type systems out there running SCO Xenix or Microport System V AT which both implement paged memory. I hate the 80286 architecture; the 68000 is much cleaner in my opinion; but there definatly *are* micros out there that have a MMU, and the AT-type is one. Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any computer manufacturer. I develop software for all of them, so I don't care which one you buy. -- David Beckemeyer | "Yuh gotta treat people jes' like yuh Beckemeyer Development Tools | do mules. Don't try to drive 'em. Jes' 478 Santa Clara Ave, Oakland, CA 94610 | leave the gate open a mite an' let 'em UUCP: ...!ihnp4!hoptoad!bdt!david | bust in!"