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Operating System Specific Discussions => MorphOS => MorphOS -- Hardware requirements and availability discussion => Topic started by: amigadave on November 18, 2011, 04:01:24 AM

Title: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: amigadave on November 18, 2011, 04:01:24 AM
Hello Sir Iggy,

I hereby challenge you to several different speed contests, while running MorphOS2.7 (or 3.0 when it is released), between your mighty 1.8GHz Quicksilver G4 PowerMac and my recently upgraded Dual 1.25GHz G4 PowerMac which has been upgraded to stock Apple, Dual 1.42GHz G4 CPU's.

Choose your weapons (several different speed tests, or software we can compare our systems running) and meet me on the battlefield.  Depending on cooling efficiency, I reserve the right to try some mild over-clocking to 1.5GHz, or 1.67GHz, but won't know if that is an option until I take some temperature readings while I am running full loads on this stock Dual 1.42GHz G4's CPU board.

Let the (fun) and games begin!

Any other MorphOS users who wish to join in these games and provide suggestions on which test software or programs to use for these comparisons, just speak up and join in the challenge. (Piru?)

There have already been some tests done, but the results were not presented in "Layman's" terms, so the exact difference between the two systems was not easy (at least not for me) to determine.  So, I suggest we report the speed results in the easiest to understand terms as possible, and/or create a graph(s) to visually show the performance differences.

Edit:  Rules of Engagement = instead of choosing Mac, Linux, or other testing software to complete this challenge, let's first try to see if we can do this with only running MorphOS native software.  (not sure this is possible, but we should look first, before we give up and choose something else)

What say you Sir Iggy?  :laughing:
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: commodorejohn on November 18, 2011, 04:10:37 AM
1.8GHz G4? Ohh, that sounds nice...
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: XDelusion on November 18, 2011, 04:55:32 AM
I thought MorphOS only made use of 1 CPU?
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: amigadave on November 18, 2011, 05:21:16 AM
Quote from: XDelusion;668252
I thought MorphOS only made use of 1 CPU?


Yes, it does only use one CPU, just like every other flavor of Amiga inspired operating system right now.

Myself, and a few other MorphOS users like to have dual boot capabilities, and use MacOSX, MacOS9 or Linux, which all can use the second CPU.
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: krashan on November 18, 2011, 07:10:35 AM
Quote from: amigadave;668250
Any other MorphOS users who wish to join in these games and provide suggestions on which test software or programs to use for these comparisons, just speak up and join in the challenge. (Piru?)


Why not use distributed.net (http://distributed.net) client (http://morphos-files.net/find.php?n&find=distributed.net) and crunch some OGR-27 blocks by the way? Do we want PowerPC Linux users to be ahead us (http://stats.distributed.net/misc/platformlist.php?project_id=27&view=tco)? There is also Distributed Pegasos Team (http://stats.distributed.net/team/tmsummary.php?project_id=27&team=30562), which may be renamed to something like Distributed MorphOS, I guess...
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: zylesea on November 18, 2011, 09:12:21 AM
I throw some mandelbrot (68k & powerup)and maxxon cinema (68k) values into the ring: http://via.i-networx.de/bench_en.html
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: krashan on November 18, 2011, 11:08:17 AM
Quote from: zylesea;668279
I throw some mandelbrot (68k & powerup)and maxxon cinema (68k) values into the ring: http://via.i-networx.de/bench_en.html
Maybe it is time to drop this old 68k stuff as benchmarks? Also Maxon Cinema is not easy to obtain.
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: commodorejohn on November 18, 2011, 02:06:12 PM
Quote from: Krashan;668283
Maybe it is time to drop this old 68k stuff as benchmarks?
No.
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: amigadave on November 18, 2011, 09:35:03 PM
Quote from: Krashan;668283
Maybe it is time to drop this old 68k stuff as benchmarks? Also Maxon Cinema is not easy to obtain.

Since they are G4 computers, I agree that most of the testing should be with PPC software, but we could also include one or two 68k tests to show how fast MorphOS is at running 68k native code through it's Trance JIT translator.

Grzerorz Kraszewski send me an email suggesting the following:

"If I may suggest a software - those who have read MUI tutorials noticed, I've ported SciMark 2 benchmark, giving it a nice MUI GUI. This benchmark measures raw CPU (and especially FPU) power as well as cache efficiency using typical scientific and signal processing algorithms. Of course it is 100% opensourced + its port is discussed in a tutorial."

So I will be checking into SciMark 2 as one of the programs to use in the comparison.  He also suggested using OGR-27 distributed.net.

Where is Iggy?  I don't see any response from him regarding my challenge?

Does he fear that I might be able to win if I am able to over-clock to 1.67GHz?  :roflmao:  (just kidding Jim, trying to have some fun with this comparison)
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: Iggy on November 18, 2011, 11:42:13 PM
No can do guys.
Currently I don't have a functional Sonnett card.
But I am looking for a replacement.
 
My old card was a 7447.
I'm looking for a 7448.
 
Personally, I'd be willing to bet that David's 1.42 Mhz processor (with its better caches) is a fair match for a faster 7447.
A 7448 might have a slight edge.
 
I'd like to see.
 
What tests do you propose David?
Title: Re: The Gauntlet is thrown down!
Post by: amigadave on November 19, 2011, 03:52:40 AM
Quote from: Iggy;668392
No can do guys.
Currently I don't have a functional Sonnett card.
But I am looking for a replacement.
 
My old card was a 7447.
I'm looking for a 7448.
 
Personally, I'd be willing to bet that David's 1.42 Mhz processor (with its better caches) is a fair match for a faster 7447.
A 7448 might have a slight edge.
 
I'd like to see.
 
What tests do you propose David?

I am sorry to hear about the demise of your mighty 1.8GHz G4 accelerator.  I hope you did not lose too much money on that purchase?  How long did it last?  Did you at least get a year or more fun from using it, or did it die sooner than that?

This is one of the reasons why I chose to get the stock Apple 1.42GHz Dual G4 CPU board.  Hopefully it will be more reliable and live longer.

Of course, if I over-clock it, that will likely shorten it's lifespan.  I may just keep it at it's stock speed.  Due to cooling limitations with my new quieter main CPU fan, which does not push quite as much air as the noisy stock fan did.  I need to find the better copper heatsink that came with the 1.42GHz PowerMac models, or find a better after-market heatsink that fits.

The only Apple MDD Dual G4 copper heatsinks I have found are $50, which is more than what I paid for my entire MDD PowerMac and the same price I paid for the Dual 1.42GHz G4 CPU board.  I might bite the bullet and pay the $50 for the copper heatsink, if I can't find a better alternative.  

I think I switched heatsinks between one of the single 1.25GHz G4 MDD PowerMacs and my current dual 1.25GHz PowerMac, because I thought the one I have now looked more efficient than the other design which looked like Tin fins, not aluminum.  Since I sold all of my other G4 PowerMacs, I can't switch back so I found one of the original Dual 1.25GHz G4 heatsinks on eBay and bought it.  It was only a few dollars and should arrive in a few days.  I am going to install MacOSX10.5.8 on one of the 4 hard drives inside my G4 PowerMac, then install iStat to show me the temperatures of various components, including the G4 CPU's.  This will show me which heatsink is more efficient (hopefully).  I also have a independent heat sensor that I can install attached to the heatsink and measure the difference between using the two different heatsinks.

I think that for MorphOS use, the single 1.25GHz G4 (over-clocked, or not) is probably the best choice (bang for the buck) with it's L3 cache and cooler operation.  I should have bought one of those instead of the dual 1.42GHz G4 and just forget about running MacOSX, or Linux on my G4 PowerMac.  

The only reason I hesitate about doing this is because my G4 PowerMac came with an expensive Avid Meridian video/audio editing software and hardware w/8 audio inputs/outputs & 4 video inputs/outputs, that I would like to use someday.

Sorry for slipping off topic there.  The software suggested by others in this thread sounds like a good start for comparing different G4 PowerMac CPU cards performance.  We can agree on what tests to run later, when you have replaced your 1.8GHz Sonnet G4 card, or someone else with the same setup steps forward to participate in this comparison.

Edit: Off Topic, but if anyone reading this has a G4 PowerMac and is interested in audio, or video editing, I have 3 or 4 of those Avid Meridian editing suites with all the PCI cards and the external input/output boxes that I would like to sell cheap.  So, if anyone is interested in an Avid Meridian setup, let me know.