| Subject: Processor Upgrade - Some Questions |
| From: Tom Baldwin |
| Date: 24/06/2005, 05:49 |
I've processed a modest 8750 work units in 6+ years. Now it's time to
upgrade my processor for BOINC. For reasons that are not relevant
here, it's to be a Dell Dimensions; either a 9100 or an XPS Gen 5, the
latter billed as the "ultimate gaming machine" (the only game I play
is SETI). The price difference is £500 (not far off $1000), but if I
compare the two side by side I see little difference:
- Same processor; up to Pentium D 840, 3.2GHz, 2x1MB L2 cache, 800MHz
FSB. The 9100 also boasts "with dual core technology", whatever that
is...
- Same memory; dual channel DDR2-533MHz SDRAM.
Questions:
- Since it's raw power I'm after, am I going to get £500-worth of
difference out of the Gen 5?
- What happened to HT, which I read earlier in this list lets me run
two instances of SETI simultaneously? Will I be able to do this with
either of these?
- What happened to the Pentiums that I have seen approaching 5GHz?
These two have only a modest 3.2GHz??
Thanks for any insights you can offer.