Author: Dann Corbit
Date: 15:52:40 10/10/03
Go up one level in this thread
On October 10, 2003 at 18:30:18, K. Burcham wrote: > > >I also believe mhz makes a big difference in game results and analysis. > >I remember a reply to one of my posts regarding SSDF hardware upgrades. I >thought it was important for SSDF to upgrade for more accurate test results. At >the time I think SSDF was using 450 mhz AMD. > >Have you had a change of heart about the importance of mhz. Does size make a >difference to you? I will always post with MHZ and program. I think Dan's idea >of MHZ in profile is good. > >here is the post I am refering to: > > > >Christophe Theron on May 30, 2001 at 22:48:09 > > >I'm happy to learn that the computer I work on everyday is antique. > >If there is a difference in elo increase between programs, it is likely to be >under the error margin you can expect from 200 games, so you won't be able to >detect it by comparing the results on 450MHz computers with the results on >1500MHz. > >If you really believe that the SSDF is way off by testing on 450MHz computers, >you are living with illusions. > >But they know that there are people like you, so they're going to update their >hardware soon. > >That won't change a thing, except that next year you are going to complain about >those antique 1500MHz computers. > >Meanwhile, a year without barking at the SSDF hardware level is something we are >all going to enjoy. Here is what I think is going on: Christophe is a chess program developer. Most people here are chess program end-users or enthusiasts. For the broad majority of people, they want to know the answer to a question like: "What is the best move to make here?" Christophe also wants to know: "What sort of experimental setup were you using?" The reason is one of performance. A 75 MHz PII is absurdly slower than some monster machine like Slater's. And so if someone says: "My program solved it in 8 seconds!" It makes a big difference to him to know what the hardware and software was exactly. Otherwise, there is no way for him to make a sensible comparison. If he is using a 733 MHz machine and you are using a 3.8 GHz machine, we should not expect both machines to get the answer at the same time. If he solves it in 12 seconds and you solve it in 8 seconds, which is better? We don't know unless we have clues about the hardware. So, let's all make C.T. a happy fellow and write down our hardware in our profile.
This page took 0 seconds to execute
Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700
Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.