64 Bit - Not all that great?
Mind you, this article is about the 64 bit AMD chip, the Athlon 64 and is specifically geared towards comparisons with the Pentium 4, but this one quote caught my eye:
Don't get me wrong, I'm eagerly awaiting any 970 based Mac, but this article got me thinking. What happens if we do get the 970 and it's not the Pentium killer everyone thinks it is? The improvements over the G4 are obvious: bus speed, memory, etc. But when it comes down to it, will the 64 bitness of the 970 save it from being run over by a blazing, albeit 32 bit, Pentium 4?
Article link: http://arstechnica.com/archive/news/1050773485.html
Quote:
The upshot of all of this? Well, the good news is that the Athlon 64 appears to be able to perform most 32-bit code on par with the competition (if defined by the speed rating), but the bad news is that the 32-bit performance is not anywhere near that of the hoped-for Pentium 4 killer of fanboy fantasy. The P4 wins the majority of tests outside of the gaming benches. Of course, such a comparison naturally focuses on 32-bit performance, so I wouldn't over interpret this information. 64-bit action may likely tell a very different story, and we must also keep in mind that this Athlon 64 is clocked at a meager 1.6GHz.
The upshot of all of this? Well, the good news is that the Athlon 64 appears to be able to perform most 32-bit code on par with the competition (if defined by the speed rating), but the bad news is that the 32-bit performance is not anywhere near that of the hoped-for Pentium 4 killer of fanboy fantasy. The P4 wins the majority of tests outside of the gaming benches. Of course, such a comparison naturally focuses on 32-bit performance, so I wouldn't over interpret this information. 64-bit action may likely tell a very different story, and we must also keep in mind that this Athlon 64 is clocked at a meager 1.6GHz.
Don't get me wrong, I'm eagerly awaiting any 970 based Mac, but this article got me thinking. What happens if we do get the 970 and it's not the Pentium killer everyone thinks it is? The improvements over the G4 are obvious: bus speed, memory, etc. But when it comes down to it, will the 64 bitness of the 970 save it from being run over by a blazing, albeit 32 bit, Pentium 4?
Article link: http://arstechnica.com/archive/news/1050773485.html
Comments
Doesn't run it natively.
Unlike the 970, which runs 32 bit code natively. No emulation (and accompanying speed hit) needed.
Thread's slightly redundant though.