[rescue] pursuing a VAX

[Eric Dittman]

> > At least, they shouldn't.  I've heard Wintel-worshippers say
> > things like, "I've got a dual 1GHz Pentium III system, so it's
> > twice as fast as a 1GHZ Pentium III!" which isn't close to the
> > truth.  You can't correct them, either.
> 
> How much faster, on average, would such a system be?  I know it's not
> linear, but is there a good rule of thumb for that?

I've heard a lot of different numbers.  Talking just the Wintel
side, a lot can depend on the CPU type (a Pentium III 1GHz is
a different chip than a Pentium III 500MHz, ignoring overclocking),
CPU subtype (there were at least two different PIII-500, with the
cache being different sizes and speed), and motherboard chipset.
A Pentium III will be completely different than a Pentium 4, so
that's another difference to consider.

The PIII multiprocessor systems I've seen share the memory bus
for the CPUs and cache.  I don't know if the higher-end proprietary
PIII systems with a custom chipset also share the memory bus, since
at that level of cost there's no reason not to consider a different
architecture.
-- 
Eric Dittman
dittman at dittman.net
Check out the DEC Enthusiasts Club at http://www.dittman.net/