From owner-freebsd-questions Tue Jun 17 14:16:04 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) id OAA07897 for questions-outgoing; Tue, 17 Jun 1997 14:16:04 -0700 (PDT) Received: from xmission.xmission.com (softweyr@xmission.xmission.com [198.60.22.2]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id OAA07824 for ; Tue, 17 Jun 1997 14:15:58 -0700 (PDT) Received: (from softweyr@localhost) by xmission.xmission.com (8.8.5/8.7.5) id PAA24863; Tue, 17 Jun 1997 15:14:32 -0600 (MDT) From: Wes Peters - Softweyr LLC Message-Id: <199706172114.PAA24863@xmission.xmission.com> Subject: Re: K6 or 6x86 ? To: jakob@teligent.se (Jakob Alvermark) Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 15:14:30 -0600 (MDT) Cc: questions@freebsd.org In-Reply-To: from "Jakob Alvermark" at Jun 17, 97 02:29:43 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL25] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-questions@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk Jakob recently asked: > I've got plans to buy a new processor. I've done some research, and > found that I should get either an AMD K6 or a Cyrix 6x86. Now I have > to choose. > > That's the problem. Both of them are quite cheap and seems to be quite fast. > > So, anybody, which one should I go for? Any recomendations? The 6x86 and K6 are *very* different processors. The 6x86 is essentially a souped-up 486, with Pentium-class speeds. In the 166 and 200 Mhz variants, it runs quite hot. Integer performance is near the claimed "Pentium rating," but floating point performance is quite a bit lower. I'm loathe to use the 6x86 because of the heat factor; most PCs already run too hot and yet make too much noise due to the inefficient layout of the case and various other stupidities that are a given in the PC world. The AMD K5 is a Pentium-class processor with good performance at low cost. I have several K5 FreeBSD machines here at home and at work, all of them are quite impressive. The K5/166, with slightly better performance than the Pentium 166 in most areas, is selling for about $95 around here. Quite a bargain. The AMD K6 has performance in line with the Pentium Pro/Pentium II range, and includes a version of the "MMX" instructions. While it has quite good performance, it is slightly more expensive than the Pentium Pro. The K6 also fits the Pentium-standard "socket 7." I haven't tried FreeBSD on a K6 yet, because I don't have $350 to spend on a processor (when I can buy a K5/166, motherboard, and 32 Mb RAM for the same amount!). So, if you're looking for a good performance bargain, I think the K5 will outperform the 6x86 for the money, up to about PR166. -- "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?" Wes Peters Softweyr LLC http://www.xmission.com/~softweyr softweyr@xmission.com