Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 20:08:43 02/06/99
Go up one level in this thread
On February 05, 1999 at 14:52:07, Don Dailey wrote: >On February 05, 1999 at 05:12:41, Hannu Wegner wrote: > >>Hi, >> >>I would like to know how important is the next processorgeneration for >>computerchess. How fast will be the Pentium III or the AMD K6 3 or the K7. I'm >>thinking about buying a new Computer. Before I do so I would like to know if it >>make sense to wait for the next processorgeneration. >> >>Best greetings, >>Hannu Wegner > >There will ALWAYS be something just around the corner, so I seldom >recommend waiting although sometimes it makes sense. The newest >thing usually costs more intitially anyway so if it's price/performance >there is usually a good choice at any given moment. If you are >mainly a performance freak, then forget pentiums and look at PowerPC >or Alpha's. I would go for the Alphas myself, they are seriously >fast! If you want to wait a little while, the ev6's are Digitals >newest chip. I have a friend who works for digital (now compaq) >and he tested our chess program on the (not yet out) EV6. It was >over 1.9 X faster at the same clock speed! That's extremely >impressive since the digital already runs rings around any pentium. > >You can wait for intels 64 bit chip, but you will have a long wait, >over a year. Even when it comes out it will be slower than the >EV6 is right now. Intel is probably about 2 years behind (from >a performance standpoint) but is appealing for many other reasons. >It's like VHS vs DVD, DVD is truly awesome, but you can't get many >titles for it yet. > >I don't think any intel will compete very well for a while when it >comes to computer chess. The great programs will continue to do >well on fast pentiums but only because they are great programs and >can overcome the handicap! But I think the programs running on >Alpha's will soon dominate. Probably at least some of the very best >Micro programs will get ported. If this happens, no pentium will >keep up. We already see Alphas now at computer chess tournaments >and will see a lot more. > >There are some companies selling these machines at reasonable >prices, better than you might think. They can run Windows NT and >Linux. Crafty would really scream on this machine. I don't know >if Bob has an Alpha NT port or not, but there is a good chance a >recompile of Crafty will do the trick. The big problem is how many >programs will run on an NT Alpha machine? This I don't really know. >But theoretically, it should be easy to port most NT software. works fine in fact... we ran on alpha/NT at the Paris WMCCC event, and you are also correct about the EV6 (21264). It is impressively fast even though the clock speed hasn't gone way up. > >Programs like Fritz, which are developed with assemblers won't >port without a huge effort so don't expect to see them. It's >the classic tradeoff, if you want the most compatibility and >comfort, you have to accept more performance constraints. You >also have to face your fears, superior products usually die >eventually because the lesser (usually lesser because it is OLDER) >product is the one that has the most intertia and the most hype. > > >- Don
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.