N
neuron
I have to make a decision on a new computer, and would appreciate some
advice. I'm definitely not any kind of hardware or software expert, so
please forgive the newbie tone to my questions.
I'm I scientist and I do a variety of different kinds of
computationally intensive crunching on large (i.e. > 1 GB) data sets.
I'm buying new computer with a ton of RAM, and will run it as a
dual-boot system with Win64 and Red Hat Linux.
Mostly, I'd be running single-threaded applications that I'd want to
run as fast as possible. This woud include things like MATLAB, S-Plus,
Python programs, etc. Also, I'd be running programs I've written
myself that I'd modify and re-compile to take advantage of the larger
memory space. I often need to run other applications at the same time
to get work done while crunching, so I figure 2 processors would make
my life easier.
However, I could imagine I'd change my work habits significantly if I
could do even more multi-tasking. For example, I often like to process
a large chunk of data a bunch of times where I've systematically varied
some parameter. If I could be running four instances of MATLAB at the
same time, each with their own dedicated processor crunching away, that
would be really fantastic. I assume this would be possible if I had
two dual-cores, correct?
Given what I said above, is the key issue on which I should base my
decision this: If I feel I will get more value out of being able to run
4 processes simultaneously then I should go with dual Opteron 275; but
if running one or two processes faster is more useful for me I should
go for the dual 252? [I'm assuming that the 2.2 GHz 275 is really about
18% slower on single-threaded applications than the 2.6 GHz 252].
Is my understanding correct about the advantages/trade-offs of
dual-core vs. faster single core for my intended use, or am I making
mistakes in my assumptions in comparing the Opteron 275 to the 252?
Thanks in advance for any opinions.
advice. I'm definitely not any kind of hardware or software expert, so
please forgive the newbie tone to my questions.
I'm I scientist and I do a variety of different kinds of
computationally intensive crunching on large (i.e. > 1 GB) data sets.
I'm buying new computer with a ton of RAM, and will run it as a
dual-boot system with Win64 and Red Hat Linux.
Mostly, I'd be running single-threaded applications that I'd want to
run as fast as possible. This woud include things like MATLAB, S-Plus,
Python programs, etc. Also, I'd be running programs I've written
myself that I'd modify and re-compile to take advantage of the larger
memory space. I often need to run other applications at the same time
to get work done while crunching, so I figure 2 processors would make
my life easier.
However, I could imagine I'd change my work habits significantly if I
could do even more multi-tasking. For example, I often like to process
a large chunk of data a bunch of times where I've systematically varied
some parameter. If I could be running four instances of MATLAB at the
same time, each with their own dedicated processor crunching away, that
would be really fantastic. I assume this would be possible if I had
two dual-cores, correct?
Given what I said above, is the key issue on which I should base my
decision this: If I feel I will get more value out of being able to run
4 processes simultaneously then I should go with dual Opteron 275; but
if running one or two processes faster is more useful for me I should
go for the dual 252? [I'm assuming that the 2.2 GHz 275 is really about
18% slower on single-threaded applications than the 2.6 GHz 252].
Is my understanding correct about the advantages/trade-offs of
dual-core vs. faster single core for my intended use, or am I making
mistakes in my assumptions in comparing the Opteron 275 to the 252?
Thanks in advance for any opinions.