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Why not to use a Pentium 4 in 2013
Aug. 7th, 2013 03:39 pmWhich offers better performance, an Atom server or a Pentium 4 one?
It's an interesting comparison, and I don't know the direct answer.
The core problem with CPU performance comparison is that people tend to latch on to clock rate as an easily-understood measure. This doesn't work because clock rate is essentially only very loosely correlated to performance. It's like saying that a 125cc motorbike is 4x more powerful than a 16 litre truck engine, because the motorbike engine does 16,000 rpm and the truck engine maxes out at 4,000rpm. The relative speeds are true; the conclusion drawn from them is utterly wrong. Yes, one revs faster, but it is in no way more powerful. It is less powerful.
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It's an interesting comparison, and I don't know the direct answer.
The core problem with CPU performance comparison is that people tend to latch on to clock rate as an easily-understood measure. This doesn't work because clock rate is essentially only very loosely correlated to performance. It's like saying that a 125cc motorbike is 4x more powerful than a 16 litre truck engine, because the motorbike engine does 16,000 rpm and the truck engine maxes out at 4,000rpm. The relative speeds are true; the conclusion drawn from them is utterly wrong. Yes, one revs faster, but it is in no way more powerful. It is less powerful.
( Read more... )
