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What is Pentium-class?
Below is an excerpt from the requirements documentation for Fedora Core 2:
CPU Requirements This section lists the CPU specifications required by Fedora Core 2. Note The following CPU specifications are stated in terms of Intel processors. Other processors (notably, offerings from AMD, Cyrix, and VIA) that are compatible with and equivalent to the following Intel processors may also be used with Fedora Core.
- Minimum: Pentium-class
Fedora Core 2 is optimized for Pentium PRO (and later) CPUs, but also supports Pentium-class CPUs. This approach has been taken because Pentium-class optimizations actually result in reduced performance for non-Pentium-class processors. - Recommended for text-mode: 200 MHz Pentium-class or better
- Recommended for graphical: 400 MHz Pentium II or better
Is there a short list somewhere on the Internet that shows me what is Pentium-class (and the equivalents from those other manufacturers), and what chips specifically would not be in that category?
This is a perfect example of technical documentation written for consumption by someone who already knows the answers. There should at least be a footnote, example, or hyperlink to more information in something like this.
The answer is that before Pentium was '486' chips. As you can see by the clock-speed information, the requirements to run Fedora Core are very low... a 400 MHz Pentium II Chip is found on most computers still running these days. The other part of the answer is that there is a list somewhere: The wikipedia site has the best information I've found on the subject. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium Lastly, from the wikipedia information, you can find what other manufacturers' brands are equivalent to the 'Pentium' brand.
--freephile 09:23, 27 Oct 2004 (EDT)