🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <226500010@trsvax> johnm@trsvax.UUCP writes:
>
>>  Now I am finally looking at Ataris, but I have some questions
>>that I hope you can answer:
>>what is the processor?
>The Motorola 68000.  The same processor used in the Commodore Amiga and the 
>Apple Macintosh.  (Comparable to the speed of an Intel 80286, which means
>you would have to buy an IBM AT clone to have the same power.)


The ST has more raw CPU horsepower than an 8MHZ 80286, if you ask me.  But
a 12Mhz 80286 AT clone has some advantages over the ST too (see below).

>>How well does it emulate IBMs?
>According to my friends, "Excellently!"  I cannot judge because I do not have
>PC Ditto.


But remember that it's pretty slow becuase you're emulating a hardware with
software running on a 8Mhz 68000 CPU.  I think it's something like 50%-80%
the speed of an old 4.77 Mhz IBM PC (which nobody uses anymore), and whole
lot slower than an 8Mhz 8088.
>>Can it use a Paged Memory Managment Unit?
>You mean like swapping memory out to disk?  No, there is no micro with that
>facility that I know of.

No micro you know of?
How about those IBM AT clones you mentioned above?   One big advantage the
AT clones have over the ST hardware is that they have hardware memory
management, and the ST doesn't.   There are quite a few 80286 AT-type
systems out there running SCO Xenix or Microport System V AT which both
implement paged memory.   I hate the 80286 architecture; the 68000 is
much cleaner in my opinion; but there definatly *are* micros out there
that have a MMU, and the AT-type is one.

Disclaimer:  I am not affiliated with any computer manufacturer.  I develop
software for all of them, so I don't care which one you buy.
-- 
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