Which CPU is better?

astro-marwil
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I know from a server, which

I know from a server, which came into operation beginning this year and working also for E@H, constisting of 665 dualcore processors of AMD Opteron. They did choose this processor, as they got maximal FLOPS per money.
If you do crunch for E@H not only at idletime during normal working with the computer, but let him run all time, then it´s worthwhile to take into consideration the crunchingspeed per electrical power - FLOPS/Watt -. At increasing energy cost this becomes of more importance at long operational times.

Bikeman (Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein)
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RE: I know from a server,

Message 69228 in response to message 69227

Quote:

I know from a server, which came into operation beginning this year and working also for E@H, constisting of 665 dualcore processors of AMD Opteron. They did choose this processor, as they got maximal FLOPS per money.
If you do crunch for E@H not only at idletime during normal working with the computer, but let him run all time, then it´s worthwhile to take into consideration the crunchingspeed per electrical power - FLOPS/Watt -. At increasing energy cost this becomes of more importance at long operational times.


Good point!

My little Mac MINI with Core (1) Duo can generate about 700...800 credits per day at 40 Watts ! Try to beat that :-)

CU

BRM

DanNeely
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My c1D 1.73 laptop has a RAC

My c1D 1.73 laptop has a RAC or 640 for around 35-8W. Credits/watt is generally going to be highest with laptop grade hardware since every component is designed to be low power. The mac mini and any PCs in the same form factor (not sure if any major brands sell them, or if they're strictly DIY) are built primarily if not exclusively out of notebook parts.

Brian Silvers
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FWIW, the claim was that a

FWIW, the claim was that a system through Alienware would be "much(!) more expensive!". This is what I just priced through Alienware. The 5355 is "slower" than the 5365, but you'll note that this system includes a FAR superior video card, a better sound card, acoustic dampening, a 10000 rpm OS drive (probably a raptorX), twin 500GB HDDs with data mirroring (RAID 1), and a high-end 5.1 speaker system, all for $200 less than the MacPro.

Also, let's say that I want to upgrade the video card again a year from now. That will likely be a lot easier to do on the PC side of things than the Mac.

Macs are good machines, except they're overpriced, especially given their lack of upgrade options...

[1] MJ-12® 8550i

Processors: Dual Processor - Dual Intel® Xeon™ 5355 2.66 GHz 1333MHz FSB w/ 8MB Cache & Quad Core
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
AlienRespawn: AlienRespawn v1.0 Recovery Kit – Windows XP Edition
Chassis: Alienware® Professional EATX Workstation Chassis - Black
Chassis Customization : Alienware® Acoustic Dampening Level I - 20% Noise Reduction
Power Supply: Alienware® 700 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
Motherboard: Alienware® Professional Motherboard w/ Intel® Xeon™ 5000P Chipset
Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 FBDIMM at 667MHz - 4 x 2GB
Graphics Accelerators: NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX 768MB
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 160GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 10,000 RPM w/ NCQ & 16MB Cache
Storage Drive: High Performance with Data Security (RAID 1) - 500GB (2 x 500GB) Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 2 x 16MB Cache
Removable Storage : Alienware® 28-in-1 Digital Media Reader / Writer
Primary Optical Drive: 18X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Burner
Secondary Optical Drive: 18X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Burner
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet - Standard
Digital Audio Hardware: Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeGamer High Definition 7.1 Audio
Monitor: 20" Dell 1600 x 1050 UltraSharp Widescreen Flat Panel - Dual Displays
Speakers: Logitech® Z-5300e 5.1 280-Watt Speakers
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard
Mouse : Alienware® Optical 3-Button Mouse with Scroll Wheel

SubTotal: $7,769.00
Shipping: --
Discount: $0.00
Tax: --
Order Total: --

Brian Silvers
Brian Silvers
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RE: Memory: 8GB Dual

Message 69231 in response to message 69230

Quote:

Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR2 FBDIMM at 667MHz - 4 x 2GB

I forgot something: the matching 8GB memory configuration (4x2 vs. 8x1) for the MacPro pushes the cost of the Mac up another $400. Reconfiguring the Alienware system to not have RAID 1 pushes it up by $140.

New prices:
Alienware - $7909
MacPro - $8300

In any event, "much(!) more expensive!" is not true...and in fact, one could argue that the Mac is actually "much(!) more expensive" due to the feature differences, particularly the slower video card and the lack of a powerful 5.1 speaker setup along with it.

AgnosticPope
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If all I wanted to do was

If all I wanted to do was crunch BOINC, I would not need most of the stuff you list. A Dell 490 with *TWO* (count them: *TWO*) of the Xeon Quad Core CPU chips [Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processor X5355 2.66GHz,2X4M L2,1333(ESMT)] and a mere 2 GB of RAM and a simple 80 GB hard disk can be had for just over $4,100 without a monitor. Bump it to 4 GB of RAM, a bigger hard disk, and a reasonably low-cost monitor and you could still get it under $5,000. Amout half of that price is the cost of the two CPU chips (over $1,300 each from Dell today).

An equivalently-configured Mac Pro runs about the same cost ($4,300 with 2 GB of RAM, but has a bigger hard disk as the default).

Of course, you can choose to add whatever bells and whistles you care to add to either machine. But by and large, you get what you pay for.

For whatever its worth, I have a 5-year-old Dell Precision myself (dual Xeon CPU chips). I tend to NOT buy the top speed versions. I get more bang for my buck buying the low speed versions of the top architecture.

If I did that with the aforementioned Dell 490, I could get *TWO* of the Quad Core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5320 1.86GHz,2X4M L2,1066(ESMT) CPU chips and the price out the door would be under $2,600 (for the $4,100 system above). If I had $5,000 (or more) to spend on BOINC contributions, I could buy multiple copies of that $2,600 machine (with a KVM switch, of course) and I bet that my total BOINC contribution (credits) would be a lot better than the person buying the Mac Pro with dual 3 GHz CPU chips.

And now, you know why I buy at the low end of the top architecture: it boils down to money, and ultimately, to "bang for the buck."

As always when discussing computer stuff, YMMV!

== Bill

Zhang Chi
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RE: My little Mac MINI with

Message 69233 in response to message 69228

Quote:

My little Mac MINI with Core (1) Duo can generate about 700...800 credits per day at 40 Watts ! Try to beat that :-)

CU

BRM


Wow!
just 40W per day!

Hello everyone!I'm Zhang Chi from China.I am 16 and I am a middle school student.And I love science. I want to be a scientist in the future!

Bikeman (Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein)
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RE: RE: My little Mac

Message 69234 in response to message 69233

Quote:
Quote:

My little Mac MINI with Core (1) Duo can generate about 700...800 credits per day at 40 Watts ! Try to beat that :-)

CU

BRM


Wow!
just 40W per day!

But not "per day". The mac Mini consumes (under full load) ca. 40 Watt (the electrical power, equivalent to the horsepower of a car). This amounts to 24 h * 0.040 kW = 0.96 kWh per day (this is the energy consumed). At german end-consumer prices, this is less ca 17 cent per day or only ca. 5 Euros per month!

CU

BRM

Dave Burbank
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RE: But not "per day". The

Message 69235 in response to message 69234

Quote:


But not "per day". The mac Mini consumes (under full load) ca. 40 Watt (the electrical power, equivalent to the horsepower of a car). This amounts to 24 h * 0.040 kW = 0.96 kWh per day (this is the energy consumed). At german end-consumer prices, this is less ca 17 cent per day or only ca. 5 Euros per month!

CU

BRM

Is that the system draw or the CPU power consumption (with or without the LCD turned on)? If that is the total power drawn by a mac mini that is very impressive, my CPU alone draws 105 Watts of power, and overclocked is probably well over 130 Watts. For four cores that is pretty good, but you throw in a water pump and three fans to help cool it and I'm looking at somewhere near 150 Watts for the CPU alone.

There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers. - Richard Feynman

MB Atlanos
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RE: Is that the system draw

Message 69236 in response to message 69235

Quote:
Is that the system draw or the CPU power consumption (with or without the LCD turned on)? If that is the total power drawn by a mac mini that is very impressive, my CPU alone draws 105 Watts of power, and overclocked is probably well over 130 Watts. For four cores that is pretty good, but you throw in a water pump and three fans to help cool it and I'm looking at somewhere near 150 Watts for the CPU alone.


Just the whole Mac Mini, tiny white-aluminium box with a Core Duo, without display. The Apple integrated in an LCD was the iMac, with faster Core 2 Duo CPU.

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