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?
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