Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 12:33:51 03/28/01
Go up one level in this thread
On March 28, 2001 at 14:12:34, Christophe Theron wrote: > > >Yes I can. But I need to buy 2 new CPUs because I only have a K6-2 450. > >PIII-733: FF 2090 (about $285) (this is the slowest available PIII) >PIII-933: FF 2990 ($410) > >AMD TB-1GHz: FF 2490 ($340) >AMB TB-1.2GHz: FF 3790 ($520) > > >With the x1.7 rule, buying a dual PIII-733MHz is more expensive (and it will be >as fast) as buying a single TB 1.2GHz. Just because of the price of the >processors, I have not even taken the price of the motherboard into account. >Anyway I cannot get one here, I must order it overseas. That is as hard to understand as Vincent's posts comparing a single at one speed/generation with a dual of a faster speed/newer generation. Forget AMD for the moment, until the dual MBs are out. On pricewatch, a 1ghz PIII sells for just over $200 US. dual MBs are priced starting at $80. For < 500 bucks I can put together a dual MB with 2 1ghz PIII processors. If you buy a single cpu MB, you are going to pay 50 bucks, plus just over 200 bucks for a single cpu. We use everything else in common. Same drives, same power supply, etc. Overall you will spend maybe $1,000 for a single 1ghz machine, I will spend $1,250 for a dual 1ghz machine. Which will effectively be twice as fast as yours, for 25% more cost. I consider that a _bargain_. When I put my quad xeon together, I ordered the chassis from one place, the processors from somewhere else, the memory from somewhere else, the disks from yet another place, and then sat back and waited for boxes to show up. They did, it took all of 1 hour to put everything together and boot the thing under Linux and it has been running fine ever since. A couple of drive failures resulted in email to IBM to get an RMA, followed by a UPS disk shipment from them with a replacement (IBM warranties a drive for 5 years). I don't mind ordering something to save a bunch of money and get a huge boost in performance. My alternative was to buy a single Sun UltraSparc workstation for the same dollar amount, but 1/10th the total performance of my quad xeon box. > >For a dual to be faster than the fastest single I can find, I must buy a dual >PIII-933. Just the processors already cost $820, and I have not even counted the >motherboard. So I guess the total price will be between $900-$1000. Pricewatch has 1ghz PIII processors for 200 bucks. The first 10 companies listed are under $250 for 1ghz processors. The motherboard (dual) is $80 US. Your price is off by a factor of 2. And if you consider the fact that if you buy a single cpu machine, you are going to spend 1/2 of that amount for the single MB and single pentium processor, the dual adds 250 bucks and doubles the performance. > >I add the tax and the postage and I'm between $1100 and $1200. > >But okay, it's not my particular case which is interesting. People can make >their own computations with the price of the hardware in the place they live. >And with the informations in my original message they can take a decision... > > > > > >Did you step outside of the hotel? :) > > Yep. I generally try to visit local culture when I travel. IE museums, schools, shopping if there is something interesting, etc. > > >I know you don't care. I noticed a long time ago. > > Cute one-liner with no merit of any kind? Why should I care about families that live on almost nothing, in a discussion about buying a new single cpu or dual cpu machine? They aren't going to buy _any_ machine so the discussion in that context is pointless. We could argue why they _ought_ to buy a Yugo rather than a Ferrari, but in reality they aren't going to buy _anything_. > > > >>But most of the free world has access to amazingly inexpensive dual hardware >>platforms at incredibly attractive prices. If a government suppresses >>technology, not much we can do about it. But not _every_ government behaves >>like that, fortunately. I happen to live in such a place. > > > >Some people will be happy to learn that they don't live in the free world. :) > >Sorry to disturb your peace with thoughts about the problems of parts of the >world you do not care about. > >You have several quads at your disposal, duals everywhere in the lab, more and >more students of yours have their own, so why is this single processor idiot >bothering you with such secondary problems? > > I think he is trying to justify not writing a parallel program, when everybody else is making the change or has already done so. :) > > > > > > >$200 makes a difference for me, and I have a computer. Actually I have several >ones in this room, and I must be very careful because if one breaks up, I might >run into money problems. > > > > If you have _several_ you have already squandered money. Or do you not believe that you can buy one stand-alone dual for way less money than you can buy two separate machines? That is trivial to check. > > > >I have tried and have had several problems. A friend of mine has had problems >too. > >Now I have stopped doing this way because of the many hardware problems (maybe >partly cause by the climate here). I buy stuffs from a store that will exchange >it immediately if there is the slightest problem. we just have different experiences. I buy probably 100 machines a year here. I can't count the tape drives, disk drives, DIMMs, printers, you-name-it that I order from the lowest price supplier I can find. And I can't recall a single DOA component in the past 2-3 years. Wait. We did order one firewire 50 gig disk that died quickly last year, but it was replaced with no fanfare/hassle after a phone call. If money is no object, I would buy local to get the stuff faster. But money _is_ an object here and I go with the cheapest supplier that can meet the specs I demand. > > > > > >>IE if my fancy new IBM 10K RPM LVDS drives go bad, I have to get an RMA from IBM >>anyway, no matter _where_ I bought the drive. It doesn't matter whether I >>bought it from a discount house or from the local IBM office. > > > >When you order in quantity, it is different. You can afford a limited percentage >of problems because you have enough hardware to make dirty repairs... > >If the hardware you have bought is for your only computer and it does not work, >then it can mean weeks of wait. Especially if you have already sold your older >motherboard for example (happened to a friend of mine). > >But if it works for you, don't change a thing. Be happy... > > > > Christophe
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