OT: Comparing old chess CPUs: Z80, 1802, 6502, H8, 68000

Skybird · 12-01-05, 05:50 PM

I never told you, but I am a low-intensity collector of old chess computers, years around 78-84 - the magix boxes that kept me wanting them when I was at school.

A friend of mine is a collector too, but he has many more computers than me, more than a hundred, for me it is only roughly one dozen

. We wondered if it is possible to have a tournament in which only the quality of the machine's software is the deciding issue, not the technical specs. For that we wonder if giving a machine only half as much time for calculation when it has twice as much MHz, well, if this makes sense? Also, does anyone know to what degree the folliwng processor's capabilities compare to each other, so that they can be expressed in calculation potential ratios too each other, I hope you see what I mean!?

Z80, 1802, 6502, H8, 68000

I found much material on these CPU, but these were technical manuals which I were not able to understand, my technical background knowledge is far too limited.

And in general, does it make sense to say that roughly a 16 Bit CPU calculates twice as much bits per second than an 8 Bit CPU? We ignore different RAM siozes and hash tables (which were not that common in those early years anyway).The general idea is that the faster a chess computer is, the lesser time it shall be given, so that both machines in a duel are equalized that way, and their software has more room to make the major difference in scoring results.

We want to have a tournament in which every machine plays with it's own individual time reserve that is tailored so that technological speed differences between hardware are somewhat filtered out.

It's funny what kind of chess these early gladiators were doing!

Much more entertaining than modern PC killer applications. I feel like playing against HAL when starting my Fritz or Hiarcs software...

12-01-05, 05:50 PM	#1
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,685 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	OT: Comparing old chess CPUs: Z80, 1802, 6502, H8, 68000 I never told you, but I am a low-intensity collector of old chess computers, years around 78-84 - the magix boxes that kept me wanting them when I was at school. A friend of mine is a collector too, but he has many more computers than me, more than a hundred, for me it is only roughly one dozen . We wondered if it is possible to have a tournament in which only the quality of the machine's software is the deciding issue, not the technical specs. For that we wonder if giving a machine only half as much time for calculation when it has twice as much MHz, well, if this makes sense? Also, does anyone know to what degree the folliwng processor's capabilities compare to each other, so that they can be expressed in calculation potential ratios too each other, I hope you see what I mean!? Z80, 1802, 6502, H8, 68000 I found much material on these CPU, but these were technical manuals which I were not able to understand, my technical background knowledge is far too limited. And in general, does it make sense to say that roughly a 16 Bit CPU calculates twice as much bits per second than an 8 Bit CPU? We ignore different RAM siozes and hash tables (which were not that common in those early years anyway).The general idea is that the faster a chess computer is, the lesser time it shall be given, so that both machines in a duel are equalized that way, and their software has more room to make the major difference in scoring results. We want to have a tournament in which every machine plays with it's own individual time reserve that is tailored so that technological speed differences between hardware are somewhat filtered out. It's funny what kind of chess these early gladiators were doing! Much more entertaining than modern PC killer applications. I feel like playing against HAL when starting my Fritz or Hiarcs software... __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.