Performance boost, dual proc over single proc?

[DeepBlueJH]

I'll be upgrading my case/mobo/cpu in the spring and I was wondering the benefits of a dual processor machine over a single processor machine. Price isnt too much of an issue here, what I'll get will be very near top of the line. I was considering either dual Xeons, dual MPs, or Hammer.

Any thoughts/comments on this?

 

[mechBgon]

What will you use it for? The second CPU keeps the system responsive when one CPU is completely consumed with an ongoing task. In this situation it can be a night-and-day difference. If you have multithreaded software such as mid-to-high-end 3D animation/rendering software, there's another place where you stand to benefit, either by having both CPUs render at once to shorten the task, or by having a "spare" CPU to use for other things while rendering's going on in the background on one CPU.

Aside from those situations, a fast single-CPU system is preferable to me. I replaced my dual-733MHz P3 system with a single-CPU AthlonXP 1700+ (exact same total MHz) and it is much more responsive for general day-to-day usage. On those occasions when I do 3D rendering for hours on end, a modern dualie would be nice, however.

Some people swear that dualies are "snappier" even when doing ordinary day-to-day stuff. Having had three myself, I've found that they're a specialty tool, as I mentioned above. Great for what they're good at, but they lie dormant the rest of the time. But it's your money. Do consider other ways to spend it, such as 15000rpm SCSI hard drives.

 

[DeepBlueJH]

Well... I have a feeling the 3.06Ghz P4 with hyperthreading will be somewhat like a dual processor machine. Also, multitasking while I'm doing something CPU intensive would be nice also. I just dont know yet... The thought of dual 2.6Ghz Xeons makes me giddy though.

 

[DeepBlueJH]

As a side note I dont frequently use high end rendering software, but would like that option open for the future. I'm an engineering coop, and thet prospect of me using AutoCAD or something that nature is possible

 

[mechBgon]

The articles found here may help illuminate what Hyperthreading can and can't do. In some situations it makes the system slower, not faster, so don't assume it equates to a real SMP system.

At any rate, if you are considering Hammer then you might as well take a wait-and-see approach, since Hammer's due out next year. If you're buying soon, a Pentium4 2.8 is going to be faster at any single task than a Xeon, since the Xeons are using the slower 400MHz bus at this point. You could spend the extra money on PC1066 RDRAM, the fastest memory platform for the P4. One curiosity is that people did some heavy WinZip compression tests and found that PC1066 is THE killer app for PC1066, with about half the compression times of a DDR-equipped P4. Interesting, huh?

Let me add that as far as the CAD software goes, it may take full advantage of the second CPU only during rendering, if it's anything like mine. The rest of the time, the second CPU serves as a space heater for the interior of the case. Does actual CAD work involve a lot of photorealistic render sessions?

 

[DeepBlueJH]

arg... good article but it didnt really answer any burning questions... It seems the generic answer to my questions seems to be "It all depends..." It would seem at the moment that a 3Ghz+ P4 or Hammer would be the best way to go...