[comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware] looking for 486; does higher bus speed matter

dkm@cbnews.att.com (david.k.miyashiro) (04/04/91)

I'm looking for a 486/33 to use for number crunching at home. I am
about to buy a Gateway system since I can get everything from one
vendor at a good price. I had thought about buying a system a piece
at a time starting with an AMI motherboard or any board that allows
the bus to run at speeds higher than 8MHz.  It seems that I will have
to pay more to do this - will I see an equivalent performance gain?
Please email responses.

Dave Miyashiro
dkm@cbqaa.att.com

phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) (04/04/91)

dkm@cbnews.att.com (david.k.miyashiro) writes:
>vendor at a good price. I had thought about buying a system a piece
>at a time starting with an AMI motherboard or any board that allows
>the bus to run at speeds higher than 8MHz.  It seems that I will have

What is this strange obsession with running the bus beyond its spec?
Why don't you buy a stepup transformer and plug your computer into 220V
while you're at it. It would be only a little less reliable.

--

scotte@applix.com (Scott Evernden) (04/04/91)

In article <1991Apr4.000531.4288@amd.com> phil@brahms.amd.com (Phil Ngai) writes:
>dkm@cbnews.att.com (david.k.miyashiro) writes:
>>vendor at a good price. I had thought about buying a system a piece
>>at a time starting with an AMI motherboard or any board that allows
>>the bus to run at speeds higher than 8MHz.  It seems that I will have
>
>What is this strange obsession with running the bus beyond its spec?
>Why don't you buy a stepup transformer and plug your computer into 220V
>while you're at it. It would be only a little less reliable.

What are you talking about?  Virtually every motherboard can run the
bus at a variety of speeds- some as high as 16MHz.  Most peripherals
these days can handle 12 MHz with ease.  Lots of folks run their
bus hot with no problems.  I run at 12 and have had zero (none, zip)
panics.  The stuff in my bus is all specifically spec'ed to run 
properly at that speed.  My VGA is 45% faster at that speed.
No reliability issues.

-scott