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Re: quad cores?



 Stephen Adler wrote: 
> The reason I ask is not so much if SMP is supported or not, but all the 
> crazy bridge bus chip sets, and interrupt controller chip sets etc. etc. 
> When I got my Intel based Core 2 Duo system, (i.e. intel motherboard) 
> there was an issue with the current version of the kernel and lack of 
> support due to some chip set issue... I can't remember how I dealt with 
> it, (some odd boot parameter option or something like that.) Has anyone 
> had any experience using a core 2 quad? Is it worth the extra money? 

The motherboard chip set could be an issue, though it's a separate one 
from the processor. Using a new distribution will help. 

I haven't had any personal experience with the quad. What I've heard is 
that the extreme (big $$) version isn't worth it unless you absolutely 
must have the fastest computer for bragging rights, but the less 
expensive ones (like the Q6600 for about $280 or the Q6700 for $545, 
current MicroCenter pricing) are worthwhile if your application mix will 
take advantage of it (multitasking or multithreaded apps). Although the 
Intel quads only offer so-so scaling, 4 cores are still better than two 
if you can keep them all working. (On the other hand, the faster 
dual-core will probably be better for gaming; an E6750 for $190 or an 
E6850 for $280 look sweet.) AMD's new Barcelona will scale better, but 
the baseline single-core performance isn't as high except perhaps in 
scientific computing, because its floating-point performance is very high. 

Intel will have true quad-core processors (four cores on one chip rather 
than two chips in an MCM) next year, and those will be faster and scale 
better. But isn't that always the way? 

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