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I just bought a mobo and 950 MHz Athalon slot A processor. It said in the mobo manual that the Athalon is a RISC processor. I didnt know any X86 cpu's were RISC. Is this true? Could someone explain this to me?

Also whats better, the Thunderbird of Athalon. For what reasons?

Thanks Guys.

The Tbird is because of the cache.

the t-bird is also cooler named....also it is a socket cpu not a slot....cpu makers are going back to the socket...its just better..

[ 02-02-2001: Message edited by: Zmoney ]

Tech Encyclepedia Definition of RISC:
(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) A computer architecture that reduces chip complexity by using simpler instructions. RISC compilers have to generate software routines to perform complex instructions that were previously done in hardware by CISC computers. In RISC, the microcode layer and associated overhead is eliminated.

RISC keeps instruction size constant, bans the indirect addressing mode and retains only those instructions that can be overlapped and made to execute in one machine cycle or less. The RISC chip is faster than its CISC counterpart and is designed and built more economically.

As for the Thunderbird question, T-Birds are faster then thier slot counterpart because 1)The L2 Cache is on the running at full speed which ncrease shte speed of the CPU and 2) Socket CPUs are less expensive to make then slot CPUs and 3) The new T-Birds have 0.18micron technology which creates less heat and allows the processor to reach higher speeds.

Hope I answered all your questions