Re: OpenBSD on 486 - Problem?

[Thomas Ribbrock <emgaron@gmx.net>]

On Wed, Oct 25, 2000 at 03:45:46PM -0400, Nick Holland wrote:
> > ST468DX4 is the same as a Cyrix Cx486DX4-QP (I think - there aren't too many
> > resources on these on the web).
> > OpenBSD, however, recognises it as a Cyrix 486DLC and writes out a warning:
[...]
> Keep in mind, most people doing development get frustrated on a 486
> system, so it is likely that no one has touched the Cyrix code in a
> long time -- esp. the 386/486 code...

I have to admit I can understand said frustration quite well after trying to
get those jumpers right for a start... :-}


[...]
> 486 identification from software was an interesting art, as I
[...]

Ah, thanks for the explanation. That make sense, then.


> As for performance increase, I tell my clients they should be looking
> for a 2x performance upgrade before they consider spending money and
> effort on an upgrade. 
[...]
> a couple inches can determine victory.  I wouldn't think you will get
> any noticable improvement in performance if you were to tweek the
> Cyrix cache, and if that mattered, I'd really recommend moving to a
> newer Pentium class system. 8)

Sound advice, thanks again. As you can probably imagine, this is a
scrap-parts system, so I'd say I leave it the way it is. It's actually
replacing a P133, which was a bit wasted on playing firewall/dial-up
machine for a small home network... :-)

Cheers,

Thomas
-- 
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      Thomas Ribbrock    http://www.bigfoot.com/~kaytan    ICQ#: 15839919
   "You have to live on the edge of reality - to make your dreams come true!"