Re: The Apple II is crap

[Roger Johnstone <rojaws@ihug.co.nz>]

In <%bW_a.8674$CN.110@nwrddc03.gnilink.net> Sam Gillett wrote:
> 
> Scott Alfter wrote ...
> 
>>The IBM PC was never an 8-bit machine.  It had an 8-bit expansion bus, 
>>but the 8088 was a 16-bit processor with an 8-bit data bus (like the 
>>65816). Later processors with a bus width less than the machine word 
>>size were the 386SX and 486SLC, which were 32-bit processors with 16-
>>bit data buses.
> 
> The IBM PC, PC/XT, and similar computers based on the Intel 8088
> microprocessor work with a 16-bit word size but use an 8-bit data bus. 
> For this reason, they are sometimes considered one step above 8-bit 
> machines and one step below 16-bit machines. However, generally such 
> machines are called 8-bit machines because the size of the data bus 
> limits the machine's overall speed.
>
> Best regards,
> 
> Sam Gillett aka Mars Probe @ Starship Intrepid 1-972-221-4088
>      Last 8-bit BBS in the Dallas area.  Commodore lives!

I remember some people calling them 12-bit CPUs, since they were 'half 
way' between an 8-bit and a 16-bit :o) I've never considered them to be 
a 8-bit CPU, since from a programmer's perspective there is zero 
difference between the 8088 and 8086 except for the performance. Indeed, 
what does the width of the external memory bus matter? If a CPU used a 
serial bus no one would consider it a '1-bit processor'. Conversely, 
some of the modern CPUs have had 64-bit external memory buses for years, 
but they're still only considered to be 32-bit CPUs.

-- 
Roger Johnstone, Invercargill, New Zealand
+------------------------------------------------+
| PS/2 Mouse Adapter for vintage Apple II or Mac |
|    order at http://vintageware.orcon.net.nz    |
+------------------------------------------------+