baer@uwovax.uwo.ca (07/26/90)
I was recently told by a systems hardware salesperson (trying to push 386 DX systems over 386 SX systems) that there are software compatibility issues for 32-bit software and SX-based systems. He implied that OS/2 2.0 will probably not run on an SX, and 32-bit applications most certainly will not, because of the memory addressing limitations of the SX (he said that software developers *could* rewrite 32-bit applications to make them run on the SX, but software designed for DX-based systems could crash on SX systems. Could anyone provide information on this issue? I understood the 386sx chip to be completely compatible (except for slower memory addressing due to the 16-bit path), but is there a limitation around the amount of memory the SX is capable of addressing, or how it addresses this memory? --------------------------------------------------------------------- Douglas Baer, Dept. of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada N6A 5C2 Internet: BAER@UWO.CA Bitnet: BAER@UWOVAX
mlord@bwdls58.bnr.ca (Mark Lord) (07/27/90)
In article <6533.26ae1cf6@uwovax.uwo.ca< baer@uwovax.uwo.ca writes: <I was recently told by a systems hardware salesperson (trying to <push 386 DX systems over 386 SX systems) that there are software <compatibility issues for 32-bit software and SX-based systems. <He implied that OS/2 2.0 will probably not run on an SX, and 32-bit <applications most certainly will not, because of the memory addressing <limitations of the SX (he said that software developers *could* rewrite <32-bit applications to make them run on the SX, but software designed <for DX-based systems could crash on SX systems. Could anyone provide A big crock of potent hooved mammal excretions. It is almost impossible for software to even tell the difference between the two processors. I have yet to hear of a program which does, although I do have an idea of how to go about it (I'm not telling, though). It ain't easy for software to distinguish at all, since, except for speed, they are 100% identical. And speed varies depending on other system characteristics, so that is not a reliable indicator at all (my 386sx is faster than a lot of 16-mhz 386dx machines). In hardware, sure, so we can't connect as many megabytes of memory to the 386sx as to a 386dx.. big deal. By the time I can afford that much memory, It'll be time to upgrade to the cheap 486's anyway (since the 586 will likely exist by then, pushing down prices). -- ___Mark S. Lord__________________________________________ | ..uunet!bnrgate!bmerh614!mlord | Climb Free Or Die (NH) | | ..uunet!bnrgate!mlord%bmerh614 | Personal views only. | |________________________________|________________________|