Mail Archives: djgpp/1998/09/29/21:15:11
DJ Delorie wrote:
> > The "junky old 486 with no L2 cache" is the hand held computer that
> > my employer manufatures.
>
> I've got a "junky old 486" in my laptop - 25Mhz. Runs just fine, and
> I'm running an X server on it!
> Heck, I recall my old 5 Mhz Z100 (8088) and it ran fast too, as the
> software was designed for that platform and wasn't bloated.
>
I recall an old 12Mhz 286 that I had that was powerful enough for me to
write a MOD player that put out 22kHz audio on the PC speaker (ie. 22,000
IRQ's/sec!).
> The fact that people think that a Pentium II 400MHz processor is
> *needed* for any software today is an insult to all the programmers
> out there for writing their software that way. Sure, there are some
> tasks that take advantage of the faster CPU (3D video games,
> rendering, simulations, etc) but 95% of your need for a faster CPU is
> to support *bloat*.
>
I agree 100%.
> Maybe it's good that the cost of getting into the software development
> business is a lot lower now, and DJGPP is certainly doing its part to
> draw people to programming, but *good* software design is still an art
> that eludes most programmers. Rather than flame someone for their
> choice of platforms, why not try to help that person achieve their
> goals instead?
Hey guys. Slow down! I didn't say that 486's are junky! *I* run an
Amd486DX2-66!!!
Mr. Fine was trying to get screaming performance out of a 486, and was not
happy with the compiler output. He said that the platform didn't have an L2
cache. I (mistakenly) referred to a 486 with no L2 cache as junky because
you can get a used 486 motherboard (WITH L2 cache) for peanuts. My
statement was not intended to be a *flame*. My appologies!
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