Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips,comp.sys.intel (
More info?)
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 20:53:06 GMT, Johannes H Andersen
<johs@sizefitter.com> wrote:
>JK wrote:
>>
>[...]
>>
>> The move to 64 bits and memory controllers integrated into the
>> cpu for much greater performance are important reasons to
>> upgrade. Of course those chips with integrated memory
>> controllers are made by AMD though.
>
>How do you conclude that integrated memory controllers results in
>much greater performance????????
The integrated memory controller reduces memory latency by roughly
20-30%. This is HUGE. Consider that processor speeds have increased
by two orders of magnitude since the 386 days, while memory bandwidth
has increased by well over one order of magnitude, but memory latency
has only dropped by about 50%. Even with the VERY large caches that
are becoming common on today's chips, memory latency is still a rather
important part of the equation.
This alone probably results in about a 10-15% improvement in system
performance over a (theoretical) otherwise identical processor with an
off-chip memory controller. I'm really not sure how much longer Intel
can go with an off-chip memory controller, they are pretty much the
ONLY company left that hasn't moved this on-chip (not counting the
grandfathered designs like SGI MIPS chips and HP PA-RISC).
> And why is it important to upgrade
>when my Dual Channel Hyper Threading Northwood 2.8/800 has performed
>fast flawlessly since I build it in July?????? Idle Temp 36 Deg.
>Max temp with 100% flat out numerical analysis = 56 Deg ????????
Obviously there's absolutely no reason at all for you to upgrade a
system that you built 4 months ago. However, for someone like me who
built most of their system in early 2002, it's starting to get a bit
long in the tooth (woohoo for me though, I just ordered a newer
processor today!). Many others are running systems that are even
older and may be looking into upgrading. Despite popular belief, a
1.0GHz PIII does tend to feel a little bit sluggish these days once
you're used to much faster processors.
-------------
Tony Hill
hilla <underscore> 20 <at> yahoo <dot> ca