Re: What Is The Difference Between 68000 Chip And 80x86 Chip?

[pausch@saaf.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <68UO7.65416$ox2.4053701@bin4.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com>,
Bryan Parkoff <BParkoff@satx.rr.com> wrote:
 
> What Is The Difference Between 68000 Chip And 80x86 Chip?
 
A lot!  It would probably be easier to answer the question: "What's
similar between 68X and x86?": they're both microprocessors, but
there the simiarity ends.
 
> I have studied 6502 and 65816 microprocessor.  I am wondering about 8080
> or 8088 microprocessor.  Are both 65816 and 8088 microprocessors very
> similar, but they have different hex code for each opcodes?
 
They're more different than that: they have different CPU register,
different sets of operations, etc.
 
> Why do PC prefer 80x86 microprocessor such as Intel/AMD?
 
Historical reasons which dates back to the design of the original IBM
PC in the late 1970'ies: IBM originally planned using a 68000 in
their PC, but when Inten made the 8088 available, IBM decided to use
that because it offered an 8-bit external data bus, which would be
cheaper to manufacture.  Later, Motorola made the 68008 available,
but that was too late for the PC.
 
> Also why do Macintosh prefer 68000 microprocessor such as Motorola?
 
They don't anymore -- nowadays they use the PowerPC RISC processor.
 
> What is the difference?
 
Different microprocessors: different architecture, different sets
of registers, different operations, etc etc etc.
 
> Which is the powerful?
 
Both are powerful.... :-)
 
> I bet that Motorola microprocessor is much easier than Intel
> microprocessor.  Please advise.
 
Both processors can be learnt fairly easily.  The x86 has a less
orthogonal instruction set though, which makes some purists frown at
it.  Perhaps the most serious objection to the x86 is that it's a
"code museum", since it's code compatible all way back to the
8086/8088, and somewhat CPU register compatible even further back, to
the 8080 and 8008; otoh the 68K line of processors are "code museums"
too, since later 68K CPU's are backwards compatible to the original
68000.
 
-- 
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