CompuServe Messages

#Slow 3ds on AMD486?

    27-Sep-95 12:29:10
Fm: Dennis Good 72260,1014
To: Kimtak Lee 74004,2505
Another possibility is this – Not all computers are created equal! Computers with seemingly identical specs (486, x Mbs of RAM and HD, SVGA display card w/xMb RAM) can be vastly different in performance depending upon a large number of factors: 1) Hard drive setup – how was the drive low-level formatted. How large are the sectors? This can affect read/write speeds, the amount of space consumed on the drive by files, and how quickly the operating system can access the drive. 2) Cache – Is it there, how much do you have, how it is implemented. 3) Memory (main RAM) – same as cache memory. 4) Speed / integration on main motherboard components. 5) Video card RAM (DRAM, VRAM, or WRAM) 6) Operating system and BIOS setup. With extremes on both ends, it is possible for a seemingly slower system to outperform one that has better "specs". I have seen this before. There is a reason for the disparity in some motherboard prices, and sometimes you get what you pay for.