WE882A*5 (????)

[David B. Thomas]

cac at iear.arts.rpi.edu (Christopher A. Cox) writes:

>	I have acquired this 3b1 and opened it up (I tear everything I
>get a part to see what's in it) [...]
>Is this the math coprocessor I hear mumblings about?

Chris, you are definitely my kinda guy!  I don't believe in pussyfooting
around just because something "works".  Hey!  I'd rather break it, fix it,
and understand it!

Are you sure that chip doesn't say 822 rather than 882?  In any case, that's
the 1200 baud modem.  I opened up an at&t external 1200 baud modem and found
the exact same chip in it, and in fact, it did just as bad a job talking
to my telebit (but that's another overworked thread).

The 3b1 doesn't have provisions for a math coprocessor.  While the topic
has been brought up occasionally, it seems to be a pointless exercise.
Apparently, CT did some experiments with a math coprocessor on the 3b1,
and found the performance improvements to be marginal at best, and the
increase in cost to be very significant.  Sorry, I don't remember any
more detail, but perhaps someone else recalls.

					little david

ps -- ascii version of hard disk upgrade plans coming along nicely!  I'll
post soon according to Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you
expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
-- 
Unix is not your mother.