computer question

[Keroberts1]

AMD64s
Exactly how much faster are these new chips? \\
Whats the deal?

Might be geting a ne computer and wanna know what i should be looking for...
I want something that would kick ass for seventeenorbust but i also wanna beable to play all games that are out right now and be able to play the new ones that may come out anytime soon.

Any suggestions?

[wirthi]

Hi,

I'm no real hardware guru but to give you a first impression:

This new processor family will not be faster for most common problems/programs just because being 64 bit. Perhaps some other parts get improved too or they increase the number of cycles.

What COULD really boost the output is when people start writing (compiling) programs especially for this new technology (64 bit). Then a lot of calculations could be optimized, where you now need two or more operations to do a calculation it could be enough to do a single one in the future.

I don't know if SoB will be able to use that but I guess somebody out there WILL find a way to improve the search for new primes.

Wirthi

[Mystwalker]

I can imagine that the integration of the memory controller into the CPU boosts memory-intensive applications (as SoB). But I can't say to which extend this improves overall performance...

[MikeH]

There's a really good review with comparitive benchmarks here (http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030923/index.html). But basically there's nothing in it between the Athlon 64 FX-51 and P4 3.2 Extreme, but these are seriously expensive processors.

I'm no expert, but right now I think the best thing to go for is a P4 system with dual channel DDR400. If you get the cheepest P4 with DDR800 support (P4 2.6GHz, PG-800FSB) this should give you the best bang for your buck.

[mklasson]

I'm very curious to see how an amd64 optimized siever would perform... It certainly feels as if it could be Speedy. Feel like buying me one too? ;)

[Keroberts1]

if there is going to be an optimized client for an AMD64 then i may be interested indishing out the doe for it in a few weeks. However if a optimized client is not goin to be available for a hile i would be better off waiting on getting a new computer or at least on spending that much for one.

[mklasson]

You're better off waiting then, at least as far as my client coding goes.

[Keroberts1]

exactly how much faster could a AMD64 client be?

[mklasson]

dunno... a wild guess is 40%, but that's just that -- a wild guess. Don't put any weight whatsoever in it. I just replied so you wouldn't feel ignored... :) I don't know enough about the amd64 architecture yet, but my hopes are fairly high.

[Joe O]

The AMD64 3200 price has already come down to just below the price of the AMD 3200 (Barton /32bit). And even with a 32 bit operating system it outperforms it's 32 bit cousin. If you are going to spend the money now, you should go for the 64 bit version. If you can wait, wait until Windows for AMD64 is available. The price might come down even more, or there might be a 3000 released which should be less than the 3200 but still a fast machine. I'm waiting, but you may choose not to.

[edwpang]

Originally posted by Keroberts1
AMD64s
Exactly how much faster are these new chips? \\
Whats the deal?

Might be geting a ne computer and wanna know what i should be looking for...
I want something that would kick ass for seventeenorbust but i also wanna beable to play all games that are out right now and be able to play the new ones that may come out anytime soon.

Any suggestions?

On a AMD 64 3200+(2.0G), I got 450K cEMs/sec. On a P4 3.0G(oced to 3.07G) FSB800 system, it's 740K cEMs/sec. Even a P4 1.8G with PC800RDRAM can get 390K. It's only a little bit faster on GHz bases. It seems to me, the SoB client is more memory bounded and more optimized for INTEL(SSE2). But for float point intensive app like super_pi, the AMD 64 can finish 1M within 45 secs, while the P43.0G can do it in 48secs.