Re: Disappointing upgrade: Sempron 2200+ --> Phenom II 4X 840

On Jan 5, 11:27 am, d...@no.email.thankstospam.net (DK) wrote:
> Wanting more raw computing power, I went from Sempron 2200+
> in ASUS Asus A7V400-MX (socket A) to Phenom II 4X 840 in Asus
> M4N68T-M V2 (socket AM3).
>
> I must say I am quite disappointed. I was hoping for about 10X speed
> boost even with applications that can only use a single core. After all,
> more than six years separate the two (expected boost suggested
> by Moore's law would be 64X). The real life tests show nothing
> of this sort! Not even close to 10X.
>
> DIVX encoding using VirtualDub and DivX 5 codec became
> faster by only about 3X. OK, this may also have something to do
> with the video card change (does it? - I don't really know; went
> from dedicated nVIDIA Quadro FX 3000, 256 MB to integrated
> nVIDIA GeForce 7025, 512 MB - not sure what is supposed to be
> better; I need occasional hardware stereo so Quadro will be
> going back into the slot).
>
> To make sure it's not GPU, I also tested using a program that does
> no graphics (multiparametric fitting anf FFT; essentially raw numbers
> crunching). Alas, a fairly common task that took 23 min on the
> 6.5 years old cheap system now took 9 min - only ~2.5X faster.
>
> Granted, programs that can use SMP run correspondingly faster
> (about 3.3X over just using a single core) but still... Are my results
> observations fairly typical? If not, what gives? This $200 upgrade
> pales in comparison with the $160 upgrade 6.5 years ago when I
> went from dual Celerons 366 in ABit BP6 to the Sempron 2200+.
> There, the speed boost was of near cosmic proportions.
>
> Any comments? Thanks!
>
> - Dima

It's a difficult job, programming for multiple cores, not to mention
BIOS and MB implementation between features and microprocessor model
enhancements constantly being added to multiple cores. When a chip
design is capable of automatically routing a linearly constructed
program, written and compiled on a single core, through a networked
die of multiple cores at x64 a factor of speed, either we'll be ready
and can sign up for a brain-implanted chip for vastly improved AI-
augmented intelligence, or begin to cover our asses when the first
Terminators are released.

While watching a PBS show on DNA, one of the researchers noted for her
work in statistical reduction sets over intersecting gnome patterns in
coupling the animal world generally to humankind, mentioned she is as
well a computer programmer. Her claim then being, is she wrote a
program, on camera for such as might a you academic be prone to say -
"I got geeky" [to accomplish the above task] - while presumably on and
using university facilities, at a factor of one a single afternoon
connotes, to do what she claims an average desktop would accomplish in
35 years!

-
"There are liars, there are damn liars, and then there are the
statisticians." -anon.