alexruiz
Platinum Member
Well guys, I guess we can se very interesting results here. If someone with a K8 1MB L2 runs the benchmark, report it, as my bet is that an FX-55 mildly overclocked will be the top gun.
Findings so far:
- SuperPI is very dependant on fast data transfer. Tons of bandwidth, low latency and big cache are key here. I was surprised to see a 2.0 GHz P-M doing poorly, as the P-M is a known monster for superpi. Well, then I realized this is the 32M test, not the 1M where the big cache of the P-M flies through the test.
- Low latency or bandwidth?: Depends on the architecture. Old-style designs (read, have a FSB) seem to be more affected by the bandwidth rather than the latency. For new designs (K8 😛) they seem to be about equal.
- What is the most important factor for superpi?: Easy answer: CACHE. A P-M flies when the test fits nicely in the cache. Once main memory is involved, the P-M chokes because of the low data transfer capabilities (we have been stating this for months....) This is why also prescotts are getting now the top marks. I want to see the results of an emergency edition. This is also why a socket 754 K8 (I assume clawhamer with 1MB L2) was able to mostly keep up with the socket 939 babies. A socket 754 K8 with DDR550 running the memory at full speed should beat a socket 939 with DDR400. Can anyone confirm? Increasing the memory speed without increasing the HT link speed is preferred (K8 white papers are your friend here)
Keep reporting 😀
Alex
Findings so far:
- SuperPI is very dependant on fast data transfer. Tons of bandwidth, low latency and big cache are key here. I was surprised to see a 2.0 GHz P-M doing poorly, as the P-M is a known monster for superpi. Well, then I realized this is the 32M test, not the 1M where the big cache of the P-M flies through the test.
- Low latency or bandwidth?: Depends on the architecture. Old-style designs (read, have a FSB) seem to be more affected by the bandwidth rather than the latency. For new designs (K8 😛) they seem to be about equal.
- What is the most important factor for superpi?: Easy answer: CACHE. A P-M flies when the test fits nicely in the cache. Once main memory is involved, the P-M chokes because of the low data transfer capabilities (we have been stating this for months....) This is why also prescotts are getting now the top marks. I want to see the results of an emergency edition. This is also why a socket 754 K8 (I assume clawhamer with 1MB L2) was able to mostly keep up with the socket 939 babies. A socket 754 K8 with DDR550 running the memory at full speed should beat a socket 939 with DDR400. Can anyone confirm? Increasing the memory speed without increasing the HT link speed is preferred (K8 white papers are your friend here)
Keep reporting 😀
Alex
