Should I get a 387 chip?

[Vikram Bajaj]

I am running Linux on an IBM 486-50SLC, and X runs quite slowly. I have 10M
of memory, and I was wondering if it would improve performance significantly
to get a 387 chip in my machine. I would appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Vik Bajaj
University of Pennsylvania

[William Hunt]

vba...@neon.ingenia.com (Vikram Bajaj) writes:
>I am running Linux on an IBM 486-50SLC, and X runs quite slowly. I have 10M
>of memory, and I was wondering if it would improve performance significantly
>to get a 387 chip in my machine. I would appreciate any help.

IMHO the most significant factor in X performance is adequate ram. if
X has insufficient memory then swapping hell results and everything is
slowed down. 16Mb is minimum, 20Mb is better.

also, a big performance hit results in using the scalable fonts if you
don't have math hardware. this can be avoided by not using the
scalable fonts. comment out the speedo and type 1 fonts from your
xconfig file.

if you already have scads of ram then math hardware should provide the
improvement you want. otherwise, invest in ram.

i am using X now on a 486SX at 33mhz with 16Mb ram, and it totally sucked
until a kind person clued me onto the scaled font gotcha. now it runs
much better - made all the difference in the world.

hope this helps, pass it on.
--
w...@teleport.com

[Martin Ondas]

Vikram Bajaj (vba...@neon.ingenia.com) wrote:
: I am running Linux on an IBM 486-50SLC, and X runs quite slowly. I have 10M

: of memory, and I was wondering if it would improve performance significantly
: to get a 387 chip in my machine. I would appreciate any help.

: Thanks,

: Vik Bajaj
: University of Pennsylvania

Get a 387 and more memory. I have an IBM PS/VP 486DX2/50 with 32M RAM and
it is not slow at all.

--
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/ Martin Ondas / Yes, I run /
/ ond...@mocomp.rhein-neckar.de / L I N U X /
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