Author: David Dory
Date: 05:16:15 07/01/02
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On July 01, 2002 at 06:44:51, Gordon Rattray wrote: >What's currently the best available hardware for running chess programs? I'm >assuming a system that's buyable from, say, Dell. > >Is a top P4/RAMBUS based system now better than the best Athlon systems? If so, >is it a significant difference? > >What about in the near future? Are any significant releases expected before the >end of the year? I've had a brief look at www.tomshardware.com and >www.anandtech.com, but it isn't always easy to determine the applicability to >chess programs. > >So, what's the recommended buying strategy for the near future? For maximum >power, forgetting price? Alternatively, best value for money? > >I appreciate that this may have been asked recently as it's a common topic. >However, it seems I couldn't hit upon the right keywords when doing an archive >search... > >thanks in advance > >Gordon I think the nod has to go to the AMD thoroughbred. The Athlon just has the edge in their branch prediction - which makes it better for many chess programs (not all, though). The Intel's got the better memory bandwidth, but in my tests, it's strictly a second place finisher to the AMD CPU. The only con with the Athlon's is they run hotter, so you need to choose your case, heatsink, and fans, more carefully than for a Pentium CPU. All the more so if you plan to overclock, and if you do o/c, don't plan on getting more than 8-10% more (unless you follow Aaron's advice :-)) I believe you'll also be hard pressed to get a better value than the Athlon. Of course, rather far ahead, the 64 bit CPU's will certainly change the landscape for all computer chess fans. David
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