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Subject: Re: Will Novag finally make a geniune 2300+ delicated computer?

Author: Ian Osgood

Date: 01:26:05 01/08/00

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On January 08, 2000 at 00:26:11, Lin Harper wrote:

>           These dedicated chess computer processors run at
>        20-36 mhz! Why can't they run at 500-600 mhz like the
>        softare programs? I'm sure there's a reason, and I'm
>        sure I'm not the only one wondering what it is.
>        Can someone put me out of my misery? :)

Margin.

20 MHz washing-machine processors can probably  had for under a buck each in
volume.

For portables, there is a second reason: power consumption.  Same reason the
Palm Pilot only has a 20 MHz processor, yet is wildly successful.

Outside of this bulletin board, there are not a lot of people who would pay the
$500 surchange to get a desktop processor in a chess computer, just so it could
beat them 99.99% of the time instead of 99%.   :)  and run on batteries for one
blitz game.  :)

I think there is little market for strong dedicated units these days; such a
customer would just buy a desktop computer instead.  Probably the reason there
aren't even 50-100 MHz chess computers on the market.

Ian



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