[Elecraft] OT: Attn CPU gurus - help me

[Hisashi T Fujinaka]

I work for one of the companies in question, so it's hard for me to be
completely objective.

CPU frequency isn't the only thing because there are multiple internal
clocks on the CPUs and one big number isn't going to tell you
everything about how fast things are running internally. The Pentium D's
with higher clock rates aren't as fast as the Core 2's with lower clock
rates in every case I've benchmarked (keep in mind I have only a very
minimal set of benchmarks to go on here).

You should also look at power consumpution (the fans are going to drive
you nuts sometimes). I have noticed that the Core 2 processors are
faster but seem to run the fans a lot less than the Pentium Ds.

Multi-core processors are going to do well fo you if you need to do
multiple processor-intensive things at once.  I'm not sure how much
processor it requires to do PSK31 while also running all the Vista
nonsense in the background; someone else will have to vouch for that.

So by now you can probably tell which company I work for. My basic
suggestion is to go with a Core 2 system over a Pentium D system because
there was a significant architecture change and it helps the computers
run cooler and quieter. And that's just me talking, not the company.

Oh, and it's usually true nowadays that the computers are fast enough to
do whatever you need, unless you're processing video in the background
while you're trying to run the rig.

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008, Robert Tellefsen wrote:

> Hi Doug
> You've got some real legitimate questions that a
> lot of us "non-gurus" would like to hear the answers
> to.  If you get a lot of your replies direct, could you
> summarize them in a post to us "masses"?
> Thanks and 73
> Bob N6WG
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "DOUGLAS ZWIEBEL" <dougzzz at gmail.com>
> To: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 3:49 AM
> Subject: [Elecraft] OT: Attn CPU gurus - help me
>
>
>> I want to hook my K3's up to the latest skimmer software along with
>> computer control of the rig, etc. and of course via the LP-Pan when
> it
>> is available (soon).
>>
>> My query is about the computer processor and associated elements.
>>
>> Currently, I am reading that the way to go for skimmer (192kc
>> bandwidth - not that I need that), is to use a machine with a 3G
>> processor.
>>
>> But that seems to only account for one element of the system
> "rating."
>>
>> My current ham radio computer is a fossil on which I run DOS stuff.
>> But my "home" computer (this one) is a Pentium 4, 3.0 Gig.  Sounds
>> right, but......
>>
>> When I look at the new machines (which seem relatively cheap for
> what
>> you get), I see:
>>
>> Core 2 Quad Q6600
>> Core 2 Duo
>> Pentiuim Dual Core
>> Celeron
>> Athlon 64
>> etc.
>>
>> Then I see speeds for each of the above, NONE of which goes up to
> 3.0
>> gig.  Just because my current processor has the "3.0 gig label," I
> am
>> assuming that these newer releases are even faster, despite the
> lower
>> clock rate.
>>
>> For the app's that I'm looking at, DOES CLOCK RATE RULE or does this
>> other stuff count too?
>>
>> I also see big variables on the L2 Cache: 2MB, 4MB, 8MB - relatively
>> speaking, how important are these compared to the other factors?
>>
>> And then there is the Front Side Bus speed:  800, 1333.  Weird that
>> the Core 2 Quad (which sounds like "the best" to me) has a FSB of
> 1066
>> (not the fastest).
>>
>> And finally, there is the clock speed, which for most of the above
> is
>> 2.2, 2.33, 2.66 gig (again, not reaching 3.0).
>>
>> How do I put all this together?  Again, for MY apps, which figure of
>> merit is most important?  Or do I just multiply them all together?
>> :-)
>>
>> Reminder:  "CPU gurus" only need respond.  I prefer direct replies,
>> but I assume that this topic might be of wide interest to the
> Elecraft
>> group...YOUR CHOICE if you respond to the list or just to me.
>>
>> THANKS A TON!
>>
>> de Doug KR2Q
>> "Expert on DRGs, not CPUs"
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis-related_group  <this page is
>> rather outdated>
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-- 
Hisashi T Fujinaka - htodd at twofifty.com
BSEE(6/86) + BSChem(3/95) + BAEnglish(8/95) + MSCS(8/03) + $2.50 = latte