*BSD News Article 45620


Return to BSD News archive

Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!munnari.oz.au!mel.dit.csiro.au!merlin!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!simtel!daffy!uwvax!uchinews!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!emory!news.cc.emory.edu!hobbes.cc.uga.edu!pollux!minyard
From: minyard@pollux.cs.uga.edu (james minyard)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc
Subject: Re: Qx2: 386sx & gpl
Date: 16 Jun 1995 04:18:56 GMT
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Lines: 38
Message-ID: <3rr0ng$6s6@hobbes.cc.uga.edu>
References: <3rcoru$t57@hobbes.cc.uga.edu> <3rcvqm$hj2@agate.berkeley.edu> <DA61r3.F96@ips.cs.tu-bs.de>
NNTP-Posting-Host: pollux.cs.uga.edu
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]

Thomas Mack (mack@ips.cs.tu-bs.de) wrote:
: In article <3rcvqm$hj2@agate.berkeley.edu>,
: Jordan K. Hubbard <jkh@violet.berkeley.edu> wrote:
: >In article <3rcoru$t57@hobbes.cc.uga.edu>,
: >james minyard <minyard@pollux.cs.uga.edu> wrote:
: >>1)  why is running freebsd in a 386sx "not recommended" (per some docs at 
: >>freebsd.org)?  
: >
: >No particular reason other than it's slow! :-)
: >
: Puuh, of course it is slower than (486/586...) but what makes a 386sx
: really slow is normally the lack of a good amount of ram. I did work
: some years on a 386sx with 12 MB and 8 MB (on OS/2) and I could work
: with it without any problems. Compiling came out to be slow by the
: time, but I think it is just the advertisement, that makes people think,
: a fast processor is really important.

: No, no - RAM is important at the first place...

agreed.  RAM makes a _huge_ difference.  a 386 with a lot of RAM is 
very usable.  
 
the big difference seen between a 386sx and a 486dx/2 (and other bigger and
better (and typically RISCier) processors) is math.  the included 4 lines 
of code run faster than the pc screen refresh rate on a sun, a hair 
slower than that refresh rate on a 486 2/66, and for minutes on a 386sx 
w/o a 387.


           -- james minyard  --  minyard@cs.uga.edu --
        <a href="http://www.cosmic.uga.edu/james/">:)</a>


/* Try me and stagger. With x size as parameter! y size=auto scaling!*/float R,y
=1.5,x,r,A,P,B;int u,h=80,n=80,s;main(c,v)int c;char **v;{s=(c>1?(h=atoi(v[1])):
h)*h/2;for(R=6./h;s%h||(y-=R,x=-2),s;4<(P=B*B)+(r=A*A)|++u==n&&putchar(*(((--s%h
)?(u<n?--u%6:6):7)+"World! \n"))&&(A=B=P=u=r=0,x+=R/2))A=B*2*A+y,B=P+x-r;}