Subject: FPU
To: None <port-arm32@NetBSD.ORG>
From: None <rlancaster@VNET.IBM.COM>
List: port-arm32
Date: 07/03/1996 19:04:35
The current state of mind ....

Sometimes I get this feeling of impending doom :-(

The reason ....

80% of the performance of a rather ageing FPU chip!

And is this the best that is going to be achievable .... well yes
because without the FPU being on the CPU silicon AFAIK it`s
limited to the bus frequency (Eg. V slow compared to the 200Mhz
internal clock speed of the SA).

The results ....

1. Forget 3D graphics
2. Forget doing anything impressive on UNIX

The cure ....

ARM putting an FPU on the SA silicon

The probability ....

Looking at ARMs track record the future looks mighty bleak.

The plea ....

Please ARM, Digital or whoever give us an FPU on the silicon ....

Richard Lancaster
RLANCASTER@VNET.IBM.COM
(Currently and very reluctantly thinking about
buying a P120 machine to take the strain my poor A610)

P.S. Sorry about the spelling I just can`t face the spell checker on
this mainframe while in such a state of abject depression.