Very Computer

by **Theodore Quangvinh Pha** » Wed, 23 Jul 1997 04:00:00

I'm about to upgrade my CPU and motherboard. My primary OS's will be
WinNT for programming and day to day tinkering, Linux for electrical
engineering homework and programming, and lastly Win95/DOS7 for games
that aren't NT compatible. I'll probably spend about 50-60% of the time
in NT, and start with around 25-30% in Linux which could very likely
increase as I learn how to use its full potential. Games are growing
less and less of a concern. The only ones I'm really into these days are
non-processor intensive RPGs (can't wait for Final Fantasy 7 PC).
Besides a good 3d accelerator will do in a pinch.

So my big question is what makes more sense, a dual PPro 180 setup or a
single PII setup? I haven't dealt with any dual PPro systems so I need
info on SMP NT and Linux performance. Is the second processor really
worth it for multithreaded programs? Does NT's SMP kernel divide the
multithreads between the CPUs or do programs have to specifically
written to some type of SMP API?
How stable is SMP Linux and does the second CPU give significant
performance gains?

If SMP is not all it's cracked up to be, then I'd be inclined to go with
a PII 233 for the speed/price point with the MMX in as a bonus. If SMP
is worth it then I'll sacrafice a litle single CPU game preformance for
the dual Pro setup.

Any info is appreciated and please cc responses to me by email,
Ted Pham

by **h..** » Mon, 28 Jul 1997 04:00:00

On Tue, 22 Jul 1997 04:31:24 -0400, Theodore Quangvinh Pham

>I'm about to upgrade my CPU and motherboard. My primary OS's will be
>WinNT for programming and day to day tinkering, Linux for electrical
>engineering homework and programming, and lastly Win95/DOS7 for games
>that aren't NT compatible. I'll probably spend about 50-60% of the time
>in NT, and start with around 25-30% in Linux which could very likely
>increase as I learn how to use its full potential. Games are growing
>less and less of a concern. The only ones I'm really into these days are
>non-processor intensive RPGs (can't wait for Final Fantasy 7 PC).
>Besides a good 3d accelerator will do in a pinch.

>So my big question is what makes more sense, a dual PPro 180 setup or a
>single PII setup? I haven't dealt with any dual PPro systems so I need
>info on SMP NT and Linux performance. Is the second processor really
>worth it for multithreaded programs? Does NT's SMP kernel divide the
>multithreads between the CPUs or do programs have to specifically
>written to some type of SMP API?
>How stable is SMP Linux and does the second CPU give significant
>performance gains?

>If SMP is not all it's cracked up to be, then I'd be inclined to go with
>a PII 233 for the speed/price point with the MMX in as a bonus. If SMP
>is worth it then I'll sacrafice a litle single CPU game preformance for
>the dual Pro setup.

>Any info is appreciated and please cc responses to me by email,
>Ted Pham

Definitely the dual pro180's . A ppro 200 is about as fast as a
single pII-233 so two 180's are definitely faster. Besides you might
be able to o/c them

by **Bill Anderso** » Wed, 30 Jul 1997 04:00:00

> I'm about to upgrade my CPU and motherboard. My primary OS's will be
> WinNT for programming and day to day tinkering, Linux for electrical
> engineering homework and programming, and lastly Win95/DOS7 for games
> that aren't NT compatible. I'll probably spend about 50-60% of the time
> in NT, and start with around 25-30% in Linux which could very likely
> increase as I learn how to use its full potential. Games are growing
> less and less of a concern. The only ones I'm really into these days are
> non-processor intensive RPGs (can't wait for Final Fantasy 7 PC).
> Besides a good 3d accelerator will do in a pinch.

> So my big question is what makes more sense, a dual PPro 180 setup or a
> single PII setup? I haven't dealt with any dual PPro systems so I need
> info on SMP NT and Linux performance. Is the second processor really
> worth it for multithreaded programs? Does NT's SMP kernel divide the
> multithreads between the CPUs or do programs have to specifically
> written to some type of SMP API?
> How stable is SMP Linux and does the second CPU give significant
> performance gains?

> If SMP is not all it's cracked up to be, then I'd be inclined to go with
> a PII 233 for the speed/price point with the MMX in as a bonus. If SMP
> is worth it then I'll sacrafice a litle single CPU game preformance for
> the dual Pro setup.

> Any info is appreciated and please cc responses to me by email,
> Ted Pham

Definitely the dual setup. SMP support under Linux (redhat 4.2) is quite
stable. I run a dual 133 and you could not get me to use a higher single
chip (except..maybe an alpha... :) instead. True, most apps do not take
advantage of multithreading, but this is changing. In addition, MS is
moving to elimnate the win95 line soon, so learn the new stuff nw and get a
good start. Win95 does not support multiprocessor, but it wil lnot *
the machine to have one. Nt SMP is pretty decent, though if one goes bad,
downgrading reallllly sucks :( In addition, in August Intel is slashinf
pentium prices, and i hear AMD will follow suit. So go for the dual setup
and spend less money. One more point: SMP motherboards are generally
faster, even with a single processor, and they also allow you to remain in
the high end of the speed battle. I got mine as a single processor, and
l8r upgraded. i can still beat 233 Pentiums, at least those I have run
against.....

Bill Anderson
Shadow Enterprises --Network Solutions

Very Computer

PPro dual 180 or PII 233?

PPro dual 180 or PII 233?

PPro dual 180 or PII 233?

PPro dual 180 or PII 233?