Tim May <tcmay@got.net> writes:
The AMD K6 may not be quite the dog the K5 was,
I've got a K5, seems like a fine CPU to me... around the performance of a P166 for about 1/2 the price.
From a purist point of view the Intel Pentium processors are good performance pieces. The main problem with the Cyrix/IBM is very poor math coprocessor performance. The average user may never notice the difference but the tests and real life use of Quake show that the Cyrix/IBM is not of the same standard as the Pentium.
I have a Intel 166MMX labelled processor running just fine at 225 Mhz (75 Mhz X 3). You can't do the same thing with Cyrix/IBM processors, maybe you can over-clock them one step. I am a keen fan of competition in the marketplace and I have two Cyrix/IBM processors in the systems in my home. I have not tried the AMD Pentium class processors but I intend to buy one in the near future just to play around with it. In the past AMD was the king of over-clocking and did things with the 486 chip that Intel could not, or chose not to. I hope AMD again gains that distinction with their Pentium class processors. Maybe Tim May has the real inside scoop on the AMD K6 processors. Certain segments of the market are commiting resources to the AMD K6 and you should see as many in the market as AMD can produce. Tim May's comments on yield problems at AMD could be very true as resellers are having a problem acquiring AMD K6s processors.
Why do you say the K5 is a dog?
K6 is similarly value for money.
I also bought a AMD 486 120Mhz a while ago for similar value for money reasons.
I thought for a while Cyrix or AMD had faster processors available than Intel. (Just prior to to Pentium II, where the Pentium Pro was highly priced and for some applications slower than an Pentium clocked at the same speed).
I may not be off to buy AMD stock, but I like competition, and will buy AMD or Cyrix any time they have a cheaper and compatible product.
Adam -- Now officially an EAR violation... Have *you* exported RSA today? --> http://www.dcs.ex.ac.uk/~aba/rsa/
print pack"C*",split/\D+/,`echo "16iII*o\U@{$/=$z;[(pop,pop,unpack"H*",<> )]}\EsMsKsN0[lN*1lK[d2%Sa2/d0<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<J]dsJxp"|dc`
Virtually Raymond D. Mereniuk Raymond@fbn.bc.ca