Geeky question OTD

[figmo]

I upgraded my PowerBook last night from a 400MHz G3 to a 500MHz G4.

Virtual PC on my PowerBook used to think I was a Pentium II. Now it thinks I'm a "686." What's that? I was hoping to be a Pentium III or Pentium IV.

Comments

[poltr1]

This is what I vaguely remember: The "586" (or P5) was the original name of the chips that Intel renamed Pentium (to denote the 5th generation CPU, and numbers can't be trademarked), and the "686" was the numerical name of what was to become the Pentium Pro. The Pentium Pro was designed to be used only in high-end PC workstations and servers, and was the only "Socket 8" chip. The Pentium II could be classified as a P6.