>>>My recommendations:
>>>	Forget P5. Forget MMX. Go P6.  NetBSD is exclusively 32-bit
>>[...]

>>In general, I would agree with this.  My Pentium Pro (clocked to
>>233MHz) absolutely smokes anything else I've used, PC-based.
>>
>>As you mention later, the AMD K6 is also a real screamer.  I've heard
>>good things about the new Cyrix M2, as well, but haven't seen
>>benchmarks.  The thing some people in the FreeBSD groups are finding
>>out with the K6 is that you must have a motherboard with a very well
>>made voltage regulator, or you can get some sporadic behavior.  The K6
>>draws some serious amperage, and some cheaper motherboards simply
>>can't keep it fed.  If you buy a K6, make sure your motherboard is
>>approved for it, and if not, consider getting a board that is.

>   Actually, the problems I've had with the K6 are not related to the
>voltage regulator. The part is on an "approved" motherboard and began to
>show flakiness after about 2 weeks of operation. It appears to have
>developed a sensitivity to heat; high quality heat sinks (including
>Peltier Effect) help, but don't get rid of the problem entirely.
>Other people have reported similar problems. This might be a problem
>only with early chips - I've not heard of problems with the newest of
>the parts.

Ah yes, there were some people who just plain couldn't make them work,
weren't there.  And you're using an "approved" motherboard?

Could this also be the case that you have one of the first batch of
chips, that someone claimed might have contained some chips with
timing problems?

Anyway, the moral is: the K6 is going to be a really awesome chip;
however, it may not yet be ready for prime time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Michael L. VanLoon                           michaelv@MindBender.serv.net
        --<  Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x  >--
    NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, Atari 68k, HP300, Sun3,
        Sun4/4c/4m, DEC MIPS, DEC Alpha, PC532, VAX, MVME68k, arm32...
    NetBSD ports in progress: PICA, others...
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