Hardware And Hardware Requirements

DocumentID: 633769
Revision Date: 29-Feb-96 3:03:25 PM

The information in this document applies to:
WordPerfect® 5.1 for DOS

Problem

Solutions: A CPU is a Central Processing Unit. There are several types of processors, some are 8088, 80286, 80386. Explanation 8086 = 16-bit internal, 16-bit data bus 8088 = 16-bit internal, 8-bit data bus 80186 = 16-bit internal, 16-bit data bus 80286 = 24-bit internal, 16-bit data bus 80386sx = 32-bit internal, 16-bit data bus 80386dx = 32-bit internal, 32-bit data bus The internal bit size represents the size of the registers in the chip. A register is a small piece of memory inside the processor that it uses for all its functions. The data bus represents the size of data that can travel through the motherboard at any given time. What this means is that on an 8088 it takes twice as much time to fill a register than it does on an 8086. This is because the data can only travel in 8-bit chunks on an 8088, and can travel in 16-bit chunks on an 8086. Speed of processors is measured in megahertz (MHz). This is actually a frequency measurement of the crystal oscillator in the computer. The oscillator is actually a piece of quartz in a small tin container. An electrical current is applied to the crystal, and it begins to vibrate (oscillate). These vibrations measure the clock speed of the computer. One hertz is equal to one cycle (oscillation) per second. One megahertz is a million hertz. The efficiency of a processor is determined by how many cycles or clock ticks it takes to do a single operation. An example of this might be that an 8088 takes 4 cycles to transfer data to and from memory. An 80286 takes only 2 cycles to do the same operation. Because of the difference in efficiency, you can't compare different processors by their MHz ratings. Example or Analogy Consider an 8088 as a one lane country road, an 80286 as a 2 lane boulevard, and an 80386 as a four lane highway. You know how slow traffic is on a one lane road, and if you get behind Farmer Joe on his tractor then you will be wishing you were at least on the boulevard. The more lanes you have, the more cars can drive down the road. The same is true with processors; the 386 has more "lanes" to handle more information than does the 8088. Known Problems Hardware must correspond with the requirement for Windows if you want to run Windows. See Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility List.

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