DMiller Wrote:Double the instruction set does not make a processor faster necessarily, and the current PowerPC processor is actually the G5, not the G4 as you said. Everything depends on how the OS and the software use that expanded instruction set. Apple is great at optimizing their code so I see no reason why OS X can't run just as fast on x86 as it did on PowerPC. Apple has the luxury of totally rewriting their OS recently so they don't need to keep building on their code base like Microsoft had been doing up until Vista. I also have no clue what googie handling as I have never heard that term before.Yes that is correct as you so said your self I said the G4 the next to latest model POWERPC processor is faster that the p4 hyperthreader wich is of course the latest intell model.
As for the OSX running just as well on a reduced instruction set, the mac processor is made for the OS not the other way around. True mac only had to change only 42 lines of code to make it's os compatable with an intell arcutecture, but thats just effecent programming. Mac OSx, 10.1, 10.22 took huge performance hits on the reduced instruction set.
By the way I ment to say gooie handling, the G4-G5 processor as well as the PowerPC line of processors have deticated instruction sets for maintaing a Gooie enviornment on a intell based PC it is the sole responcibility of the kernal.
The P3 / and P4 HT series intell processors have enhansed instruction sets for networking, and threading, which combined don't have nearly as much overhead as gooie handling. Intell chose the performance boosts here because their where important to users. However they were never really problems to begin with as far as overhead was concerned.
Apple did the smart thing they made a processor that made their machine faster, instead of funner (wich comes inherently with being fast).