From: Brandon S. Allbery (bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org)
Date: 04/20/93


From: bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org (Brandon S. Allbery)
Subject: Re: Pentium
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1993 02:00:50 GMT

In article <1993Apr20.163316.12290@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca> u0xh@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca (Just me again...) writes:
>>The pentium chip is 100% compatible, the only differences lie in its
>>improvements (if you call expansion improvement) of the command set.
>
> The Pentium command set has not been expanded as far as I've heard.

I have heard this also: there are something like 5 new instructions, none of
which are user mode and at least one of which is for a super-special mode that
nobody's supposed to use :-)

>386. This is not the case however, because Pentium optimized software will
>supposedly run ~5% faster on a 486, becuase the optimization is so high.

Um, I heard the opposite: Pentium-optimized software will run *slower* on the
386/486 because the optimizations for Pentium are different.

Of course, I "heard it" from OST, in which I always catch several outright
errors and a lot of "spin control" in every issue... it should probably be
taken with a largeish grain of salt. . . .

++Brandon

-- 
Brandon S. Allbery                                       bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org

It's not too late to turn back from the "Gates" of Hell... Linux: the FREE 32-bit operating system, available NOW. Why waaaaaait for NT?