Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!xios!greg From: greg@xios.XIOS.UUCP (Greg Franks) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Microport 386 UNIX 5.3 Rel 2.1 speed questions Message-ID: <432@xios.XIOS.UUCP> Date: Tue, 24-Nov-87 09:23:27 EST Article-I.D.: xios.432 Posted: Tue Nov 24 09:23:27 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 29-Nov-87 07:36:34 EST References: <346@oracle.UUCP> Reply-To: greg@sdn.UUCP (Greg Franks) Organization: XIOS Systems Corporation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Lines: 32 In article <346@oracle.UUCP> bradbury@oracle.UUCP (Robert Bradbury) writes: >Why does the 386 run slower than the 286? [timings of 'cat'ing deleted]. Beware: A fast CPU does not necessarily imply a fast computer. There are other factors: for example, how fast are the disks? An 8088 loading off a RAM disk is going to be a lot faster for 'time cat < /dev/null' than an 80386 running off of floppies! One other consideration: is 'cat' loaded into the file system cache and/or does it have the sticky bit on?. Microport 5.2.2 for the 286 uses an awfully big file system cache. Regarding dhrystones: the results you post do seem very strange. The periodic dhrystone postings that appear in comp.arch show the 80386's to have quite an impressive rating. Perhaps the compiler that you are using is a piece of junk. Does anyone know if Green Hills has a 386 compiler out yet? On the other hand, perhaps the 386 compiler you are using isn't optimizing dhrystones down to: main() { long t1, t2, time(); t1 = time(); t2 = time(); printf( "%ld\n", t2 - t1 ); } :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) Keep poking around and good luck! -- Greg Franks XIOS Systems Corporation, 1600 Carling Avenue, (613) 725-5411 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Z 8R8 utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!xios!greg "There's so much to sea in Nova Scotia"