hpasanen@cs.hut.fi (Harri Pasanen) (03/12/91)
Which of the abovementioned SCSI controllers would you prefer? What are their functional differences, if any? How much does each one cost? (I have a choice of getting a new Adaptec, or a used WD7000.) And while I'm at it, here comes another question: What or the differences between floating point co-processors from Intel, Cyrix, IIT and whatever. Specifically I'm interested in the 80387/33MHz compatible processors. The Cyrix processors seem to be advertised at a lower price, but how about compatibility and performance? Can I just plug one to my motherboard which has a socket for 80387? Thank's for help Harri Pasanen
davidsen@sixhub.UUCP (Wm E. Davidsen Jr) (03/18/91)
In article <HPASANEN.91Mar11210735@sauna.hut.fi> hpasanen@cs.hut.fi (Harri Pasanen) writes: | (I have a choice of getting a new Adaptec, or a used WD7000.) I would go with the Adaptek because more non-DOS operating system, like UNIX, support it. Even if you never plan to graduate from DOS it may add to the resale value, and plans do change. Other things effect performance to the point that I would not guess which will be faster in your particular system. | And while I'm at it, here comes another question: What or the differences | between floating point co-processors from Intel, Cyrix, IIT and whatever. Cyrix are much faster than old Intel, slightly faster than current production (ie. watch out for a deal on the older 20 or 25 MHz Intel parts). They are less expensive and use a lot less power. Both the IIT and Cyrix sometimes produce results which are one bit different from the Intel part. These answers are not "wrong," and may even be slightly more accurate, but they are not identical in every case. Several reviews have claimed that the Cyrix is a half bit more precise on some functions, but if your code depends on this you have bigger problems and should see a good numerical analyst. Note that I have seen the articles but not the raw data, so I'm sure that the results can be one bit different, but I am taking on trust that the accuracy falls in favor of Cyrix. The Cyrix may not function on some motherboards because, being CMOS, it is effected differently by noise. The Intel part draws so much current it damps the noise, or so various articles have claimed. I have used 6-7 Cyrix chips over the last year and have been happy with all of them. I have used one IIT in someone else's system, and it worked for what I was doing. -- bill davidsen - davidsen@sixhub.uucp (uunet!crdgw1!sixhub!davidsen) sysop *IX BBS and Public Access UNIX moderator of comp.binaries.ibm.pc and 80386 mailing list "Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" -me