I guess the real question is:

Who asked the original questions, and why was it so _broad_.
Are we talking pure processing power (what kind of processing BTW)
isolated from every other factor and influence in the system?  
Or are we shopping for a home computer based on the CPU specs (yuck)!

I just finished a project that involves real-time processing of serial
data and discovered that the programming interface (assembly) has
_a lot_ to do with the "power" of a CPU in a particular application.
If what you want to do is easy to code with the instruction set given,
then not only is it easy, but it's cheap and quick.  If you have to
fake things (like resolving indirection without a LEA instruction), then
your cycle count goes through the roof!

well, let's _NOT_ start a flame war about whose computer is better than whose.
The orginal question was about classifying micro-processors...
having re-read the entire thread, I don't think much more can be said without
getting down into specific proposed systems with important details given.


That's it for another $0.02.

Cheers everyone.


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  Peter Pundy

  Email: 2545500@jeff-lab.queensu.ca