bang for buck?

Geoffrey D. Jacobs jacobsgd21 at BrandonU.CA
Thu Mar 7 21:50:45 PST 2002


Using (or not using) MP processors is probably more important than the 
case you use to deploy the PUs in.  In Canada, prices for Athlon XP 
processors hovers around $350 CAD.  Using MPs pushes this to ~ $500 CAD. 
 For a basic node, this is a significant cost increase.

Generally, SMP should help performance compared w/ 2 single CPUs (by 
Amdahl's rule) as average communcation speed is much higher.  All in 
all, though, it depends on the application.

For we who don't run diskless, SMP saves another $140 CAD (can't stand 
POS - Fujitsu - drives).

If XPs can be used safely with modern Athlon mobos, I don't think 
there's any question that SMP is worth it (if you don't care about 
waranty).  Things get dicier if MPs are a necessity.

Does anyone have a success story about XPs and 760 MPX motherboards?




More information about the Beowulf mailing list