Mac vs PC cpu speeds

[incognito247]

I was just wondering what the comparison of cpu and overall speed is with macs vs pcs. For example, what would a 800mhz mac be equivalant to a pc cpu speed. I thought I heard it was roughly double (1.6ghz) on a pc. Or is it dependant on the type of processor for each. I was just looking to purchase a g3 ibook 800mhz 256ram and I wanted to make sure it was fast enough for my needs. (internet, light graphic editing, dvds).

 

[nonameo]

I'd expect a G3 800 to be about like a PIII 800. But yes, it should be fast enough.

 

[sgrinavi]

The G3 uses a PowerPC chip, A RISC processor (reduced instruction set cpu) as opposed to the common intel line which use Complex Instruction Set CPU(CISC). In some regards they are faster (mhz for mhz) , there is just less stuff for the processor to deal with...

BUT, in most cases they are about the same as each and every process has to be sent to the chip along with the variables whereas on the CISC chips just the variables can be sent for those embedded instructions..

Buy an apple for it's slick, common, EASY TO USE interface, not for speed or cost effectiveness..

BTW, that is 2001 or 2002 technology... , I hope you are getting it for next to nothing.

 

[incognito247]

So what you're saying is.... I have no clue what you just said sgrinavi. j/k. I gotcha. I honestly just wanted to expand my general knowledge with the macs now that I tend to use it abit more at work. And I think it was a good deal ($200) for a g3 800 256m 40g 12" ibook but I decided to pass on it. I wanted a dvd drive and I just might get a pc instead with a little more speed on it. Appreciate the clarification guys. Good to know.

 

[Amaroque]

Originally posted by: sgrinavi
The G3 uses a PowerPC chip, A RISC processor (reduced instruction set cpu) as opposed to the common intel line which use Complex Instruction Set CPU(CISC). In some regards they are faster (mhz for mhz) , there is just less stuff for the processor to deal with...

BUT, in most cases they are about the same as each and every process has to be sent to the chip along with the variables whereas on the CISC chips just the variables can be sent for those embedded instructions..

Buy an apple for it's slick, common, EASY TO USE interface, not for speed or cost effectiveness..

BTW, that is 2001 or 2002 technology... , I hope you are getting it for next to nothing.

Actually you are wrong, Intel and Amd are high performance RISC chips. The last x86 chip that was CISC was the P5. They decode CISC instructions into RISC ops for the CPU to work on.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Amaroque

Originally posted by: sgrinavi
The G3 uses a PowerPC chip, A RISC processor (reduced instruction set cpu) as opposed to the common intel line which use Complex Instruction Set CPU(CISC). In some regards they are faster (mhz for mhz) , there is just less stuff for the processor to deal with...

BUT, in most cases they are about the same as each and every process has to be sent to the chip along with the variables whereas on the CISC chips just the variables can be sent for those embedded instructions..

Buy an apple for it's slick, common, EASY TO USE interface, not for speed or cost effectiveness..

BTW, that is 2001 or 2002 technology... , I hope you are getting it for next to nothing.

Actually you are wrong, Intel and Amd are high performance RISC chips. The last x86 chip that was CISC was the P5. They decode CISC instructions into RISC ops for the CPU to work on.

show that in writing somewhere...

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: Amaroque

Actually you are wrong, Intel and Amd are high performance RISC chips. The last x86 chip that was CISC was the P5. They decode CISC instructions into RISC ops for the CPU to work on.

show that in writing somewhere...

AMD's K5 was a RISC core that translated x86 instructions into its own internal instructions (what are today called "micro-ops"). All of AMD's subsequent designs used a similar approach.

Intel's Pentium Pro ("P6") did the same thing, as did the products based on it (Pentium II, Pentium III, etc.) and those that came later. The Core microarchitecture (Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, etc.) took this a step further by introducing Macro-Ops Fusion, a method of "fusing" certain x86 instructions together for faster execution (an extension of the concept of Micro-Ops Fusion, introduced with the Pentium M, that does the same for micro-ops).

Transmeta's Crusoe products were widely noted for using a (fairly complicated) emulation system that allowed them to translate x86 instructions into their own internal RISC language. In theory, they could be adapted to emulate any instruction set.

I'm not all that familiar with the guts of VIA's designs.

Jon Stokes's Inside the Machine covers this topic (and others) in some detail.

 

[Amaroque]

If you don't know how to find the info being a "Diamond member" since '01, I don't feel I should post the links. You should be more than capable of finding it yourself cmdrdredd.

 

[Amaroque]

This is a good explianation here.

 

[Fenixgoon]

define "light gaming"

an 800mhz CPU is going to hurt on most games, unless you intend to play starcraft and the like, where high end CPU = p3 600mhz

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: incognito247
I was just wondering what the comparison of cpu and overall speed is with macs vs pcs. For example, what would a 800mhz mac be equivalant to a pc cpu speed. I thought I heard it was roughly double (1.6ghz) on a pc. Or is it dependant on the type of processor for each. I was just looking to purchase a g3 ibook 800mhz 256ram and I wanted to make sure it was fast enough for my needs. (internet, light graphic editing, dvds).

It will be just fine, depending on the MacOS version loaded. The G3 is a higher IPC processor in general than P3 was, so you're probably going to see similar performance as you might expect a P3 1Ghz system to perform. Grab some ram if you can, it will use it nicely.

You should repost this in 'All Things Apple' forum, and ask more questions if needed.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Amaroque
If you don't know how to find the info being a "Diamond member" since '01, I don't feel I should post the links. You should be more than capable of finding it yourself cmdrdredd.

that's the answer I would expect for someone who is pulling stuff out of thin air. :roll:

seriously...there's nothing wrong with providing links if asked. If it's too much trouble then I feel sorry for you.

BTW: posting here all the time doesn't mean I read every little piece of info on everything that doesn't affect me. If you base someone's knowledge on their postcount then I'd love for you to go to a site like gamefaqs and see the level of intelligence there.

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: Amaroque
Actually you are wrong, Intel and Amd are high performance RISC chips. The last x86 chip that was CISC was the P5. They decode CISC instructions into RISC ops for the CPU to work on.

I hate it when that happens... LOL

Thanks

 

[cmdrdredd]

To get back on topic here. I think that iBook would be fine, but I'd look into a memory upgrade. Otherwise it will serve well for DVDs and general computing. Obviously you won't be able to play the latest games, and do hardcore photoshop work. It would be fine though for probably everything you wanted to use it for.

 

[Amaroque]

Sorry for snapping, I was having some arguement
with my wife at the time. :beer:

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Amaroque
Sorry for snapping, I was having some arguement
with my wife at the time. :beer:

that's when it's time to go blow up some stuff in an FPS.

 

[Amaroque]

I built a bon-fire in my backyard about an hour later... does that count?

Edit: It's still red hot embers.