UZi706 Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 So I know the x86 a processor, but is this something you run in a MAC, or is it a PC Proccessor that enables you to run Mac OSX on a PC? Am I less cool around here because I'm running a Duo Core? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macprodan Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Lol, a Core 2 Duo is a x86 Processor... So are Cyrix / Pentiums and Athlons. PPC Processors are RISC processors perhaps you should do a little reading if you interested in this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu.Walker Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 They basically do the same thing differently. LOL Gotta google it up man, it's gonna be a pretty interesting topic to read up on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UZi706 Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 I did, and all I was getting is info on an proccesor that was released in 1984 of 1985 and that its was first used in IBM's. That's why I was curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabr Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 x86 is a type of processor architecture. If you want more, wikipedia is your oyster: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UZi706 Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Thanks. That is where I got alot of my info... AHHH GAF Nevermind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric.C Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 x86 is the most common processor architecture, if you bough a computer within the last 15 years, then you probably have a x86 processor. some newer processors also offer x64 support through EM64T(extended memory 64 technology) and AMD64. You can still run OSx86 on computers with these processors because these are NOT x64 processors, then just support x64 extensions. the important things are SSE, SSE2 and SSE3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret-Simpson Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Ok, enough bollocks, time for laymans terms.: Each processor responds to a certain set of commands and instructions. It is the same as a waiter taking orders in French or English etc. This language of very base commands is called the "Instruction Set." and is the key component of what is called the computer Architecture. An Architecture is just like a culture. It consists of a Language, the instruction set - Although many processors add their own individual slang, called "Instruction Set Extensions." Examples are Intel's SSE,2,3 and MMX. It also includes basic fundamentals of architecture that are almost universally followed, and the cultures are rarely mixed: It is unnatural to find a city of japanese pagodas being inhabited by mexicans cooking typical mexican dishes, and speaking in Spanish. This metaphor and simile is pretty accurate. The processor architecture, be it PPC, X86, AMD64, SPARC64 or whatever, just defines the language, layout and structure of the processor family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rufus T. Firefly Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 I still wonder why an x86 cpu is named that. It's a 32bit processor. Maybe i'm ingnorent though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret-Simpson Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 It's an arbitrary naming convention, began by the first x86 CPU, the intel 8086 then 80186 80286 80386 80486 Intel Pentium (5x86) There was also a 6502 and a 8088. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takuro Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Dang. I came to this topic thinking I was going to have to explain some things, but I actually wound up learning a lot myself. I was wondering why a 32-bit Intel processor wasn't called "x32" and why "x64" would signify 64-bit processing. Now I know it was just a random method of naming. I hope my college professor explains things as clearly as Ferret did when I take computer engineering courses in fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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