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[Solved] I didn't expect this...

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs - [Solved] I didn't expect this...

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Best answer from jitpublisher.

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Anonymous   09-26-2009 at 08:51:23 AM

I compared my old dual Xeon (3.06 GHz , Tyan S2665, 4G RAM (4 cores)) office machine with my equally old Pentium 4 (3.2GHz, ASUS P4C800-E, 1G RAM) home machine by running the benchmark program included with Mathematica 7. To my surprise the Pentium 4 won by a more than negligible margin. This is a totally unexpected and I suspect that something is wrong with the Xeon machine but I can't find what. Apparently both processors are recognized by WinXP. The only thing I found so far is that a diagnostic program ( FreshDiagnose ) I downloaded, says that the current speed of the second processor is 3059 MHz but the CPU socket is unpopulated and its status is unknown. This seems contradictory and I'm not sure whether this indicates a problem with the diagnostic software or with the Xeon hardware.

Any thought on this is much appreciated.

Laszlo


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Best answer from jitpublisher
I have a Mustang GT and Dodge 1 ton dually truck. Normally the Mustang will blow away the truck in a race, but then I bought a bunch of software at an auction really cheap that amounted to 4000 pounds and loaded it into both vehicles, 2000 pounds in each one. Now the Mustang can barely even move, what gives?

Long story short, yeah the 2 processors are built to do different things.
You cannot compare them the way you are doing.
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Outlander_04   09-26-2009 at 09:15:38 AM

the software might not be dual cpu aware


Message edited by Outlander_04 on 09-26-2009 at 09:16:02 AM
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jimmysmitty   09-26-2009 at 09:21:59 AM

Might not support multiple cores but as well make sure you have the latest BIOS and drivers installed.

Also IF the program doesn't utilize multiple cores then it will depend on the speed of the CPU more than anything (Mathematica 7).

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Snow_Patrol   09-26-2009 at 10:53:17 AM

Anonymous wrote :

I compared my old dual Xeon (3.06 GHz , Tyan S2665, 4G RAM (4 cores)) office machine with my equally old Pentium 4 (3.2GHz, ASUS P4C800-E, 1G RAM) home machine by running the benchmark program included with Mathematica 7. To my surprise the Pentium 4 won by a more than negligible margin. This is a totally unexpected and I suspect that something is wrong with the Xeon machine but I can't find what. Apparently both processors are recognized by WinXP. The only thing I found so far is that a diagnostic program ( FreshDiagnose ) I downloaded, says that the current speed of the second processor is 3059 MHz but the CPU socket is unpopulated and its status is unknown. This seems contradictory and I'm not sure whether this indicates a problem with the diagnostic software or with the Xeon hardware.

Any thought on this is much appreciated.

Laszlo



Xeons are server processors, they're built for different things altogether, and are more suited for multi-tasking than straight-line speed and brute strength. The only reason why your Pentium is faster is because its architecture allows it to mathematically compute numbers more fluidly and at a faster rate because the majority of Intel's prospective customers were going to be large businesses, which need mathematically-suited processors. Plus, programs like Mathematica 7 use one core and rely on clockspeeds to get the job done, another reason why your hyper-threaded Pentium wins.

Also, since Xeons are server-side components, those programmers who created benchmark programs didn't think that the general public would actually get around to using a Xeon processor, thereby leaving it out of the list of supported/recognized processors. Your machines are running fine, there's nothing to worry about here.

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jitpublisher   09-26-2009 at 03:21:11 PM
Best answer

I have a Mustang GT and Dodge 1 ton dually truck. Normally the Mustang will blow away the truck in a race, but then I bought a bunch of software at an auction really cheap that amounted to 4000 pounds and loaded it into both vehicles, 2000 pounds in each one. Now the Mustang can barely even move, what gives?

Long story short, yeah the 2 processors are built to do different things.
You cannot compare them the way you are doing.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by jitpublisher on 09-26-2009 at 03:22:07 PM
Reply to jitpublisher
exq   09-26-2009 at 04:49:32 PM

szia laci, remelem meg tudsz magyarul:) rakd fel mind a ket gepre legalabb 8 virtualis gepet, amibol az egyil legalabb sql server legyen, a matlab-ot, stb, es nezd meg hogy mit tud az otthoni geped:) just for the fun i assumed based on your first name you are Hungarian, so the reason for my Hungarian answer:) Egyebkent hol elsz? otthon Mo-on? En itt elek kint az allamokban. Na legalabb hasznaltam egy kis magyart is:) udv!

Reply to exq
obsidian86   09-26-2009 at 05:40:34 PM


az a P4 capeble a hyper threading?

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by obsidian86 on 09-26-2009 at 05:42:26 PM
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Anonymous   09-26-2009 at 07:34:48 PM

Thank you all for the explanation. It makes sense now.

alaszlo

Reply to Anonymous
jimmysmitty   09-27-2009 at 06:25:41 AM

jitpublisher wrote :

I have a Mustang GT and Dodge 1 ton dually truck. Normally the Mustang will blow away the truck in a race, but then I bought a bunch of software at an auction really cheap that amounted to 4000 pounds and loaded it into both vehicles, 2000 pounds in each one. Now the Mustang can barely even move, what gives?

Long story short, yeah the 2 processors are built to do different things.
You cannot compare them the way you are doing.



Thats like a Corvette I saw towing stuff. Sure it has the power but isn't made to do it.

Wish my random answeres were considered the best

:P

obsidian86 wrote :

az a P4 capeble a hyper threading?



Yes. Well his is. he has a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 w/HT. I used to have one.

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