Processor Speeds

[k0409964]

cheers guys i know what a CPU does in theory but what is it actually doing? why does a centrino rn at a lower speed but still perfom well compared to a desktop? and why r Mac processers so much more efficient?
(thanks for the quick reply by the way!)

 

[uid=[0]]

there are lot of things that change performance. HDD, FSB, Processor Architecture, RAM, CPU Data path etc.

as before

 

[borat_sagdiyev]

well macs use intels now.

 

[uid=[0]]

well macs use intels now.

some do yes, however is a new implimentation for MAC OSX to support the intel processor architecture

 

[k0409964]

cheers for the help guys but what the difference between a centrino running at 1.8ghz and a Intel Pentium 4 630 "LGA775 Prescott" 3.0GHz (800FSB) with HT Technology is it all down to Variables such as FSB ect?

 

[borat_sagdiyev]

some do yes, however is a new implimentation for MAC OSX to support the intel processor architecture

yes i know, thats why im running it on my pc

 

[Lac3y]

The clock speed is only one part of the processor. Many other things determine its performance.

In simple terms:

The processor clock determines when the processor is allowed to execute calculations. So obviously the higher the clock speed the more calculations it can execute.

Now, from my A-level Computing class I have learned that AMD processors do more calculations per 'tick' of the clock than INTELs, therefore they can run at lower clock speeds but still outperform INTELs.

 

[uid=[0]]

that is very true, i think its like 1.5-2 calculations per cycle as to a p4 is like .5 per cycle. i dont recall exactly but its something close to that

 

[PerfectSK]

Also, L2 caches make a difference. That centrino laptop got like 2 mb of L2 cache. Thats speedy stuff!

 

[Scythe1]

ok if you were to choose from two of these processors which one would you choose and y ?
1.AMD Athlon 64 FX60 Toledo 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor
64 bit Support: Yes
Hyper-Transport Support: Yes
L1 Cache: 128KB+128KB
L2 Cache: 2 x 1MB
Multi-Core: Dual-Core
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, 3DNOW! Professional
Operating Frequency: 2.6GHz
Process Type: 90 nm
Series: Athlon 64 FX
Voltage: 1.30-1.35V
or
2. Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 955 Presler 1066MHz FSB LGA 775
64 bit Support: Yes
Hyper-Threading Support: Yes
L1 Cache: 24KB+32KB
L2 Cache: 2 x 2MB
Multi-Core: Dual-Core
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Operating Frequency: 3.46GHz
Process Type: 65 nm
Series: Pentium Extreme Edition
Voltage: 1.25-1.4V