CompuServe Messages

PENTIUM P90 I'm just doing some benchtests with AutoCAD R12 C2 for DOS on a Pentium P90 PC and getting some interesting results – it proved no faster at running AutoCAD than a Pentium 60MHz! The basic config included: 16 MB RAM, Diamond Viper (using a fast asynchronusVL bus), 256Kb cache, AMIBIOS, SoftEngine (V2). Special attention was given to the BIOS settings i.e write back enabled and the config files were optimised to run AutoCAD for DOS. The test was run on an identically configured P60 which tested at 53 seconds. The best we could get the P90 to do was 51.9 seconds? I then tried a Diamond Stealth card with Panacea's DLD and got similar results………. All those Winbench etc things told us that it was really fast at running Windows etc but when it came down to running a real application like AutoCAD there seemed to be a log jam somewhere in the system. Next I tried 3D Studio: The P60 was literally twice as fast as the 486 66 but the same Pentium P90 could only give a 20% improvment on the P60. There are only a few explainations that I can think of: 1) The log jam is now on the video bus – today's processors are fast but the graphics cards are now holding back AutoCAD. There was a time when PC processors were not that hot so graphics guys decided to off-load some of the processing workload onto another chip…usually on the graphics card….maybe this has changed and the CPU is now so fast that the processor on the graphics chip is a liability. I have yet to try out a 64 bit card but the AutoCAD drivers for these are still a bit ropey..I'll have to wait untill Softengine is up and running for the Matrox. 2) It's early days and P90 motherboards are not that good – this could be in the BIOS, general PCB architecture or chipsets…… The company who's machine I tested know their stuff and have produced some of the fastest 486s I have seen. So it came as a surpprise to both them and myself as to the poor P90 performance……. If this is what a good PC manufacturer can come up with what the hell are the bad ones going to produce? On my first encounter I would have to say WAIT until things settle down. Has anyone else out there looked at any other P90 machines? I would be interested in any feedback on Pentiums with AutoCAD. I'm going to be looking at a VIP Pentium board later this week – that's a motherboard which has PCI, VL local bus and ISA slots with the latest OPTI chipset. This may provide the P90 with its missing power. Who knows! Martyn Day, Editor, CADdesk Magazine, London.