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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
- Path: sparky!uunet!munnari.oz.au!ariel.ucs.unimelb.EDU.AU!werple.apana.org.au!spectre!rjl
- From: rjl@spectre.apana.org.au (Richard Lindner)
- Subject: Re: Can someone explain mem access vs. CPU speed (was: Re: Run a 486/33MHz CPU at 40 or 50MHz?)
- Organization: Australian Coherent Users Group
- References: <1j41qnINNq7g@savoy.cc.williams.edu>
- Message-ID: <1993Jan23.094753.27966@spectre.apana.org.au>
- X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
- Date: 22 Jan 93 22:47:53 GMT
- Lines: 32
-
- oldwanda (93gke@williams.edu) wrote:
- : In article <1993Jan13.203244.6289@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu> viznyuk@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu (Sergei Viznyuk) writes:
- : > If you have 70ns DRAM on 486-33 it makes sense to
- : >try to run it at 40Mhz. It will reduce the memory access
- : >time from 90ns to 75 ns. If you have 60ns DRAM
- : >then 40Mhz may give you even worse performance
- : >(75ns vs. 60ns).
- :
- : This topic comes up frequently, but nobody explains why.
- : Can someone please explain this in some detail? Also, how does this
- : relate to wait state selection?
- : (Please reply publicly)
-
- i think i see some confusion here - the speed raing of ram indicates the
- fastest speed that it will operate. a DX33 requires at least 70nS dram -
- 60nS will work equally well, but possibly at a cost penalty. (faster ram
- costs more). 80nS ram _may_ work - no guarantees ;-). a faster clock usually
- requires faster ram (disregarding interleaving and the like). but the speed
- that the processor and peripheral chips will operate is generally limited by
- the ratings of those chips. running a DX33 at 40MHz bay be stretching things
- a little, and certainly won't do anything to help your warrantee.
-
- bottom line - use a DX33 @ 33MHz with 70 or 80 nS dram. a DX40 (say a 386)
- should definitely use 70nS ram. there's absolutely _no_ advantage in using
- faster ram. the overall performance is determined by clock speed. providing
- that the ram can keep up, the speed rating of it is irrelevant.
-
- --
- richard lindner ,-_|\ rjl@spectre.apana.org.au
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