On 18 May 00, at 20:09, K. Karl Kuller wrote:

> > In a message dated 5/17/00 11:51:39 PM Eastern Daylight
> Time, Karl writes:
> >
> > <<  I bought a GT300 computer that was
> >  billed as having a 300-MHz Cyrix CPU.  Much later when I
> had
> >  my system diagnosed by PC Pitstop, I discovered that the
> CPU
> >  was only 234 MHz.  >>
> >
> > I agree this is annoying, but this is not a result of
> Tiger's practices, but
> > rather those of Cyrix. Cyrix uses a "P rating" that gives
> what they consider
> > the equivalent Pentium CPU speed. So when you see a Cyrix
> 300, it is not
> > saying the CPU actually runs at 300. It is saying that
> Cyrix believes this
> > chip gives performance equivalent to a Pentium 300. Just
> about all vendors
> > list the Cyrix chips by their "P-rating" speed rather than
> their true MHz
> > speed.
>
>     I, and most of the people with whom I talked, never
> heard of the "P rating".  The computer I bought was listed
> as having a 300 MHz CPU - period, which was  an outright
> lie!  In the real world of processing SETI data, the Cyrix
> 300 CPU processed only 3 KB per hour, whereas my Celeron 400
> MHz CPU produced 7 KB per hour, which shows quite clearly
> that the Cyrix WAS NOT equivalent to a Pentium 300 CPU.  All
> computer settings and conditions were the same in both
> computers.  Conclusion:  Since the GT 300 computer was
> billed as having 300 MHz CPU (not P300), Tiger Direct
> knowingly misrepresented the product in their advertising.
>     K. Karl Kuller

  A Celeron has several advantages over a Pentium ("Pentium I") that
aren't reflected in the clocking rate (MHz).  These include the on-
board CPU-speed cache and the Dual Independent Bus.  The particular
distribution of instructions and data in the SETI code may magnify
these differences.
  Cyrix has never claimed that this CPU would run SETI as fast as a
Celeron 300MHz.  Their claim is that it will run typical business
apps (Microsoft Office and the like) about as fast as a *Pentium*
300.  And benchmark tests seemed to bear that out.

  It does sound like Tiger Direct was less clear/honest in their
advertising than they should have been.

David G

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