Fuchi, the 6x86 performs superbly when reloading programs from cache. In other tests it fares differently:
1) Under WP for Windows, the driver for the HP-855 printer consumes immense amounts of processing power when printing high-res, color documents. With the P200+, I was effectively unable to do anything else while printing (changing the spool settings did not help). With the PII, simultaneous use of other apps is slow but possible.
2) A 16-bit Windows program that I designed to search and replace code in multiple megabyte applications and a 16-bit DOS program compiler both run 2x faster on the PII.
3) Multimedia Windows 95 apps including display of .BMP and .AVI files are noticeably smoother with the same video card and memory.
4) Quake screams (sorry about this one but it's true).
5) When loading NEW applications or loading NEW documents from within apps, under Windows 95 the PII runs about 50% faster.
6) A 32-bit VB accounting application goes from the menu to displaying a finished report in 2/3rds of the time required by a P200+.
I've been writing benchmarks and testing PCs since the 8088 and experience shows that the time required to complete accounting-oriented tasks is highly dependent upon the raw MHz of the CPU. The same was true for most 16-bit DOS apps. For example, the 386/40 would outrun a 486/25 when it came to printing financial statements although they were about the same with WP For Windows. A similar effect shows itself today when playing "games".
I write and compile applications for a living and my business clients crunch there way through huge databases every day. Some processes are so complex that even a PII/300 is 100% busy for several minutes. For business apps outside of the "productivity" arena (WP, spreadsheets, etc.), faster actual clock speeds translate into better performance.
CYRX has optimized its memory management ... which pays off in typical Windows 95 apps. But **when you network applications, caching is prohibited**, costing CYRX much of its memory advantage.
IMHO CYRX CPUs provide better value for home and casual business users while the PII is best for heavy-duty number crunching and networked apps. As CYRX transitions to .25u and their native CPU MHz rises, this will surely change. Which may explain why I am so long on CYRX/NSM.
Craig |
