Rod, at 09:34 on Apr 26 1996, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BG> Still, it makes you wonder just how much more they can squeeze
BG> from 486 technology.  Seems it isn't totally obsolete yet.

RS> Yeah, interesting to watch, and interesting
RS> how cheap say the 486DX2/66s are too.

BG> BTW, DX2s are no longer available new (old stock notwithstanding). 

RS> Depends on the brand etc.

Probably a bit careless of me to make that comment, as some chips like the
old and ubiquitous 80186 and its CMOS variants are still quite frequently
used in controller applications, USR modems included, and given the
incredibly low unit cost of the slower DX2s these days, I can see no reason
for them not to be used as such either.  Ditto the DX4s, and eventually the
P5s too, I suppose...

BG> DX4/100s are the slowest 486 CPUs you can currently buy these days. 

RS> Nope.

A generalisation.  If you have a squiz at any of the trade mags, you
yourself should know that you'll very rarely see any CPU less than a
DX4/100 being advertised, now that the AMD and Cyrix clones retail for as
little as $90.

BG> Amazing.

RS> Not really, its inevitable.

I meant the completely disproportionate price drop we've seen over the past
say 6-12 months or so, with componentry such as HDs, RAM, and CPUs.  The
arse seems to have fallen from those particular markets almost overnight.

Regards, Bill

--- Msgedsq/2 3.20