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  • Author Author: element14Dave
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SEGA Genesis VS Super Nintendo

Ben Heck recently broke down the Sega Genesis and a Super Nintendo to scientifically prove which 16 Bit console was the best. Which console do you think was better?

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  • Not having ever used either one or watched Ben's video, I went with the SEGA Genesis since it has a 68000 CPU.  I have very fond memories of programming and writing compilers for the 68000.  It's a very clean 32-bit architecture and... wait a minute... didn't you say this was a battle of 16-bit consoles?  Why in the world is a 32-bit 68000 considered a 16-bit machine?  Sure, it has an external 16-bit data bus but the internal architecture is all 32-bit.  That would be like saying an Intel 8088 is an 8-bit architecture rather than a 16-bit CPU with an 8-bit data bus.  Grumble grumble whine moan insinuate.

  • in reply to mcb1

    , frankly it sounded clear to me that is a 16 bit with internal 32 bit architecture. Despite the wiki I remember this CPU. It was the "revolution" as I have used before the 6502 processor.

     

    Wiki says:

     

    The Motorola 68000 ("'sixty-eight-thousand'"; also called the m68k or Motorola 68k, "sixty-eight-kay") is a 16/32-bit[1] CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector (now Freescale Semiconductor). Introduced in 1979 with HMOS technology as the first member of the successful 32-bit m68k family of microprocessors, it is generally software forward compatible with the rest of the line despite being limited to a 16-bit wide external bus.[2] After 35 years in production, the 68000 architecture is still in use.

  • in reply to mcb1

    mcb1 wrote:

     

    If you believe Wiki it seems its not sure if its 16 or 32 bit.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_68000

    The bit size of a CPU architecture is usually the size of data registers and data ALU.  All the 68000 data and address registers are 32-bit, and arithmetic is all 32-bit.  So internally the 68000 is definitely a 32-bit machine.  A specific chip implementation may have different external data and address bus widths.  The 68020 has 32-bit address and data buses, the 68000 has 24-bit address and 16-bit data buses, and the 68008 has 20-bit address and 8-bit data buses.  Part of the bus width decision is package pin limitations.

     

    If you're planning to support an architecture for a long time it's good to design the architecture for future technology.  The 680X0 architects expected to have future implementations with 32-bit external buses even though they could only do 16-bit data with the first version.

     

    IBM did this with the 32-bit IBM 360.  The first implementations included 8-bit and 16-bit versions which performed 32-bit operations with multiple cycles through 8- or 16-bit ALUs.  I think these used logic made from discrete transistors, or else small-scale integration ICs.

  • in reply to johnbeetem

    Guys

    I was convinced from the start ...

     

    I came into microcontrollers late, so I never did play with these, but it was certainly the day when the hardware and software limitations ensured the designers had to be clever.

     

    So maybe we should report poll as false or misleading?? image

     

    Mark

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