🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <31DBE0AC.202B@ix.netcom.com>
           sommers@ix.netcom.com "David Sommers" writes:

>Lawrence Kirby wrote:
>[.....]
>> >And wait for a
>> >Pentium Pro built version of Quake for NT 4.0 with Xdirect video and
>> >sound.
>> 
>> The only reason an NT version would run faster in normal play is if it
>> were able to use some of the features of the graphics/sound cards better.
>> This is relevant but not a 16 vs 32 bit code issue.
>
>The phrase "Pentium Pro built version" implies compiling the code for an 
>application (or game) using Pentium Pro machine code instructions and 
>optimization.

I suspect that most extra Pro instructions are for feature control rather
than performance. It may have some extra 64 bit memory move instruction.
Certainly procesor specific optimisations are useful - that's one of the
methods Intel used to get good SPEC results.

>The current VC++ 4.1 compiler I use supports the Pentium 
>instruction set (a super-set of the 486) and also is aware of code 
>optimization that only a Pentium can take adavatage of. The Pentium Pro has 
>features and machine instructions beyond the Pentium that a compiler could 
>take advantage of in producing an efficient product.

DO you know many applications that supply separate 486 and Pentium
optimised binaries?

>I expect Microsoft, and 
>others, to release efficient Pentium Pro optimized compilers. This goes 
>beyond the simple notion of 16-bit verses 32-bit.

First they should release a decent optimising 32 bit compiler for *any*
processor. Even gcc seems to generate better code than Watcom which I
understood was the pick of the DOS/Windows compilers in terms code
efficiency. ID chose gcc to develop Quake (although code efficiency
wasn't the only consideration there).

-- 
-----------------------------------------
Lawrence Kirby | fred@genesis.demon.co.uk
Wilts, England | 70734.126@compuserve.com
-----------------------------------------