Poster: mips_proc Date: 2003/4/19 4:23:52
the power argument is meaningless... 1 P4 at 3ghz can do the work of at least 4 G3's@600mhz... so one P4 would be more economical... and also cheaper by far...
ROTFL. The guy that's missed the point by several parsecs!
Firstly, the A1 is
not being shipped with G3@600, but g3@800 and g4@800.
It is not true that 1*P4@3G = 4*G3@600. If your sole benchmark is MHz, then you know nothing about computers. This argument has been shot down so often here and elsewhere I'm not going to bother expanding.
It is rare that a server requires raw processing power. It is not used for the same things as a desktop computer, and certainly doesn't have the same number of concurrent users. 2 G3@600 are better than 1 P4@3000 when talking about servers: you're spreading the load. Of course, that's assuming you can
get a P4 + cooling system into a 1U case.
A server farm (a small one would have "only" 600 mobos in racks) does not just require electricity to function, it also requires electricity for air-conditioning: you can cook an egg on a P4, whereas the G3/G4 runs much,
much cooler.
Air conditioning eats up power (and the hotter the air, the more power required). It also circulates dust - which a Pentium, requiring more ventilation, also stirs up much more of - and this is not good for the humans (remember them?) who actually operate and maintain the servers.
Interestingly, on French radio this morning there was a discussion of how using more efficient electric appliances (they mentioned TVs and dishwashers) could save up to 30% of electricity consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emission by an impressive amount.
Lastly, the price difference between a x86 mobo and the XE would be recouped in direct electricity savings (the board alone) in about a year, if Alan's calculations are correct.
