Re: [gentoo-user] Re: new machine: Intel quad vs duo

[Florian Philipp]

James schrieb:
> Philip Webb <purslow <at> sympatico.ca> writes:
>
>
>> I'm getting close to buying the parts for my new machine (see earlier msgs)
>> & an Intel quad-core mentioned by a helpful responder
>> has now come down almost within my price range.
>> The CPU I have been contemplating for some weeks is
>> an 'Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 4 MB 65 nm 2,67 GHz', which sells for  CAD 225 ,
>> but there is now 'Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 8 MB 65 nm 2,4 GHz' for  CAD 305 ;
>> the  8 MB  cache in the latter divides into  2 x 4 MB / pair  processors.
>> Prices continue to drop weekly & should go lower with our higher CAD.
>
>> My guess is that even a dual-core CPU wb overkill for my simple desktop,
>> but I'm keen to get value for money in a machine intended to last to 2011 .
>> Does anyone have any thoughts re dual- vs quad-core processors
>> when used for various purposes with Gentoo ?
>
>
> To really quantify things, you need to look at the minutia of
> how the processors are interconnected, bandwidth, and a host of
> very hardware oriented details. From a commons sense approach,
> better performance must be achieved  from the smaller sizes
> of the transistors and such on the new 65-nm processes that are
> used to build such multi-processor semiconductors. You can spend
> a huge amount of time drilling down into these details, if
> you want to. My experience is all that performance requires
> and extra premium in costs from the purchaser to make the
> suppler rich (or at least enough money to design the next chip).
> Intel extracts a bit more profit from the user than AMD, because
> they can. Just like Nvidia make more money than ATI.....
>
> That said, I like AMD products, but, it is a choice.
>
>
> The better questions to ask are:
> 1) Does the linux kernel run on this processor?
> 2) Does the extra cost seem reasonable for my needs?
> 3) Ask any minutia questions to some kernel experts
> (for example maybe kernel.org or Intel have some
> published benchmarks)
> 4) Look for relevant benchmarks (benchmarks are like
> statistics, folks publish what promotes their position.
> 5) Just by the dam thing and enjoy the hell out of a smokin
> box that the rest of us only dream about....
>
>
> (don't forget to purchase generous amounts of the fastest
> ram the machine supports, or your pissing away your money.
> Large L2 cache and the fastest memory available for your
> processor dollars are usually the best choices, in my experience.
>
> Also look into heating issues and possible using a water cooling
> system to extend the life of the processors and keep the
> dB level down to something reasonable....
>
> Personally, I put off purchases as much as possible, but when the
> time comes I get a 'one off' of the latest and newest, to stretch
> my limited dollars (or those whom I work for).
>
>
> hth,
>
> James
>

If the same rules apply to Intel Quad Cores that applied to Dual Cores
then faster memory is a good investment. Faster RAM timings don't make a
big difference, though. So, don't buy Corsair just because the one
millisecond better timing they guarantee. Stick with something
reasonably priced.

Water cooling? Well, it's got its advantages but I would stick with air
cooling, less trouble in maintenance and failure.

To the main topic: I'd say, log your system's load to see if it's above
2 from time o time and check if your main applications are threaded or
are executed in parallel.
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