Intel's Enemy No. 1: The AMD K6 CPU

The DOS Performance Of The K6

Today the DOS performance of a computer system is most likely the least important one. Hardly anybody is still using DOS for any business applications, but there are still several computer games, that mainly run under DOS. For me DOS is really nothing else than a gaming OS anymore and that's the reason why I'm only doing game benchmarks for DOS.

In this environment the K6 doesn't really look exactly good. Quake is not one of the K6's favorites and in other 3D applications under DOS it doesn't look well against the PPro at all.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
DOSK6 233K6 200K6 166Pentium MMX 200Pentium Pro 200
Quake 1.06 Timedemo2 640x48014.213.412.215.721.9
PC Player DOS 3D Benchmark26.425.123.123.131
3DBench250250200166.6333.3
Chris Dial's 3D Bench38.435.331.740.749.6

I can only stress again, that I personally wouldn't give anything about the Quake issue, because there's a Monster 3D and GLQuake, which is faster and much nicer. However the K6 is compared to the Pentium Pro definitely the worse DOS gaming CPU.

TOPICS
Latest in CPUs
Tech Deals
AMD's non-X3D Ryzen 9 9950X processor hits an all-time low in Amazon's Big Spring Sale 2025
Ryzen 5 9600X
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X hits all-time low price
Core Ultra 200S CPU
An Arrow Lake refresh may still be in the cards with only K and KF models, claims leaker
Tech Deals
Our alternate pick for the best gaming CPU is $190 cheaper than the 9800X3D right now - pick up the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X for just $289
ASRock fixes AM5 motherboard by cleaning it
ASRock claims to fix 'burned out' AM5 motherboard by cleaning the socket
Ryzen AI
AMD's Gorgon Point APU line-up breaks cover — Allegedly aiming for a 2026 launch
Latest in Features
Free Alternatives to Photoshop
Five Best Photoshop Alternatives Tested: Image Editing for Free
Awekeys Antiques Metal keycaps
Awekeys Antiques Metal keycaps are Viking-themed luxury for your fingertips
The Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7
Get the most out of your processor with this motherboard's Turbo Mode
AMD RDNA 4 and Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs
AMD RDNA 4 and Radeon RX 9000-series GPUs start at $549: Specifications, release date, pricing, and more revealed
MSI Prestige GPU
Tested: Intel's Arrow Lake 140T iGPU mostly maintains an edge over AMD's older 880m
MechBoards Hyper7 R4
I’m typing this on the world’s largest keyboard, a 178-key beast designed to make you more productive
  • rockstone1
    Wow
    Reply
  • rockstone1
    17 years later.
    Reply
  • beta212
    Damn, 16 years late. I came to this article after seeing a link on ars, it's rumored that Tom is in Singapore somewhere.
    Reply