VOGONS


First post, by Am386DX-40

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Hey guys, another tricky (and interesting) one.
I've always read that there's absolutely no difference between the IIT 3C87 and the IIT 4C87DLC, and that the 4C87 is just a relabelled 3C87 that changed the name to go with the Cyrix/TI 486DLC line of processors.
Fair enough.

But today, I've found something really curious. I have 2 4C87DLC-40, which seem identical to each other, until I tested them with IEEETEST and then this happened:

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Testing the 1st one:
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Testing the 2nd one:
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Clearly they are not the same internally, so we can throw the "they are all the same" out of the window.
On closer inspection, I notice that the one on the right is deep black, while the one on the left is more brownish-redish (this is the one that has rounding errors in the test). The manufacturing date differs by a few weeks, nothing major. I've been looking at photos everywhere and it seems that the black ones are all "1002FA" and the brownish ones are "1002FB". Maybe that indicates a different factory, maybe the brown ones are in fact relabelled 3C87 while the black ones have a new core with bug corrections and IEEE-754 compliance.

So I'll ask you guys (if you have the time and want to do it) to run the test on your machines and report back which IIT math co you have, and what results you get.

Also, according to "the bible of math coprocessors" (https://dougx.net/gaming/coproc.html) you can check on the accuracy tests that he uses a 3C87 (dated 1992) and he gets another result, different than the ones I posted. So there are "at least" 3 different versions floating around. Intriguing.....

Reply 2 of 16, by Am386DX-40

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frudi wrote on 2021-01-27, 20:48:

I'd be happy to test my 1002FC chip, but where could I download this IEEETEST program? Searching for it has proven completely fruitless.

If I remember correctly, it's part of the Cyrix Fasmath software suit that came with the Cyrix FPUs. A big selling point for them were "100% IEEE754 compliant". Give me a little time and I'll attach it here when I'm back home if you don't find it.

Reply 4 of 16, by frudi

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Am386DX-40 wrote on 2021-01-27, 21:59:

Here it is, you can find IEEETEST in Disk2.zip

Much appreciated!

I attached images of my chip and results. I got the same results as your 1002FB.

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Reply 6 of 16, by Am386DX-40

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Mumak wrote on 2021-01-28, 06:49:

Would be interesting to know if the 1002FC is recognized as Intel or IIT in HWiNFO:
Re: HWiNFO support of vintage hardware

It's probably the exact same core, but yes, would be interesting to know if there is consistency.

Reply 8 of 16, by frudi

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So I ran HWiNFO for DOS and it recognizes the FPU as IIT 3C87 at 37.3 MHz.

I would attach a screenshot, but for some reason all text in HWiNFO is blinking for me (using an STB Systems ET4000AX), which my crappy phone camera can't deal with and refuses to focus on the monitor picture at all.

Reply 9 of 16, by Am386DX-40

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frudi wrote on 2021-01-28, 15:42:

So I ran HWiNFO for DOS and it recognizes the FPU as IIT 3C87 at 37.3 MHz.

I would attach a screenshot, but for some reason all text in HWiNFO is blinking for me (using an STB Systems ET4000AX), which my crappy phone camera can't deal with and refuses to focus on the monitor picture at all.

Yep, same exact behaviour as my "brownish" 1002FB one.

image.png

Reply 11 of 16, by PiotrUU

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I tested the IIT fpu. I detected 5 core variations. Group 1 fails the ieee and mcpdiag tests.
Group 4 and 5 have the same ieee-754 score.
The fastest is the FPU from group 4.

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Reply 12 of 16, by PiotrUU

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cd..

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  • m_4.jpg
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Reply 13 of 16, by PiotrUU

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Interesting fact - fake intel -> IIT group 1

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Reply 14 of 16, by 386SX

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Very interesting! I've got a 1002FB 9422 fpu the brownish one but I need to install the hard disk cause I have a temporary overlayed 8GB disk waiting for a time correct one. Anyway as soon as possible I'll update but I suppose it'll fail too.
But these failures what does they mean? Some operations weren't supported? Are there any detailed logs on which ones and where they could be considered back then a problem?
Does these test passes on a 486 integrated FPU?