#ubuntu-us-wi 2011-04-20
<ripps> I have a dilema: intel i3 2100 or amd athlon x4.
<ripps> sandybridge with 2 cores vs. athlon with 4. Sandybridge is suppose to have awesome performance, but does it trump an extra 2 cores
<ripps> I've looked at some comparison benchmarks, but it they seem pretty comparable, except each one does better a certain operation than the other.
<mikeputnam> ripps: intel i7!
<KBme> well, i'd guess it depends on how parallelisable is what you'r doing
<KBme> you're
<KBme> if it can be parallelised easily more cores will help more
<mikeputnam> so do "cores" present themselves as disticnt cpus to the os?
<mikeputnam> s/disticnt/distinct/
<spikeb> yes
<mikeputnam> ah
<mikeputnam> so a dual processor with dual cores would appear to have 4 cpus
<mikeputnam> got it
<KBme> also intel Hyper Threading makes cores show up as two cores
<mikeputnam> as a non-os programmer, i wonder how linux itself uses or does not use parallelism with regard to cpus
<mikeputnam> KBme: i see.  didn't realize that either
<KBme> how it uses?
<KBme> it has a scheduler to map OS level threads to cores
<mikeputnam> so in my earlier example the 2 proc dual core may look like 8 cpus?
<KBme> if it has hyper threading yes, each core shows up as two cpus
<mikeputnam> crazy
<KBme> what i understood about hyper threading is that if the process runs into a bottleneck it can be rescheduled and an other process can take over
<KBme> but don't take my word on that one, we're getting on the murky water of CPU design
<mikeputnam> heh
<mikeputnam> so even if an application isn't designed for parallelism, it probably would benefit in someways with the os balancing it's own threads across cpus
<KBme> well
<KBme> the whole system still benefits for it
<mikeputnam> right
<KBme> your application won't
<mikeputnam> so indirectly in my example themn
<mikeputnam> *then
<mikeputnam> ah
<KBme> yeah
<KBme> well, since it can fully use one core and the "other stuff" can be mapped to other cores
<mikeputnam> so generally speaking without actively designing for parallelism, your app exists as a single thread (pid?)
<KBme> it will get more cpu time than if the whole system is on the same core
<mikeputnam> right
<KBme> well, that depends too
<KBme> you can thread your program and still not be parallel
<mikeputnam> overall timeshare, but the os isn't going to magically separate out chunks of your app to leverage idle cpu cycles
<KBme> look up for example the difference between concurrency and parallelism
<KBme> no, it won't âº
<KBme> though the haskell people are working on that :D
<mikeputnam> it's interesting to think about concurrency and parallelism out of the context of computing
<mikeputnam> like a manufacturing business for example
<mikeputnam> get more orders -> get more people -> do more work
<KBme> yeah
<KBme> io bottleneck: an unfinished highway
<mikeputnam> heh
<KBme> mikeputnam, dhmn looks interesting :P
<mikeputnam> or even open source software development. i believe human brains are basically single threaded. but get 15 people...   :)
<mikeputnam> KBme: it is. clever people doing fun and interesting stuff
<mikeputnam> KBme: join the mailing list.  lots of neat stuff goes by
<KBme> mikeputnam, you are very wrong about the human brain
<mikeputnam> yes i suppose. there's a lot going on: keep my breathing, seeing, hearing, fight or flight, etc etc
<KBme> yep
<KBme> also, if you're really interested, search for "Google Workshop on Quantum Biology" in youtube, pretty mind-boggling talks
<mikeputnam> i guess i was referring to the voluntary thought->action process
<KBme> that "counscious" part...hmm yeah, maybe
<KBme> i wouldn't be sure, tho, even
<mikeputnam> at least i know i can't write 3 programs in parallel
<KBme> heh
<KBme> mikeputnam, i'm in france for now âº
<mikeputnam> neat. seek out "hackerspace"s near your locality. you'll be glad you did.
<mikeputnam> http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/France
<KBme> there seem to be non where I am..
<mikeputnam> :/
<mikeputnam> start one?
<mikeputnam> :)
<KBme> so, what is it?
<KBme> hmmm
<KBme> i guess i'll just rtfm ;)
<KBme> mikeputnam, we're kind of starting one
<mikeputnam> great!
<mikeputnam> sort of a community workshop
<KBme> for hackers
<KBme> yeah
<mikeputnam> like a health club membership, but for your brain
<KBme> so what do you program, mikeputnam?
<mikeputnam> computer people, metalworking people, woodworking people, crafty people, electronics people, art people, etc, etc
<mikeputnam> i work on an Oracle/PeopleSoft ERP app
<KBme> âº
<KBme> ugg (oracle;)
<mikeputnam> yeah
<KBme> they do usually pay well tho
<KBme> well, ogtta get back to hacking on my couchapp laterz
<mikeputnam> enjoy
#ubuntu-us-wi 2011-04-21
<douglasawh-work> do any of you have an HP 6400 by chance?
#ubuntu-us-wi 2011-04-22
<lostson> yo
#ubuntu-us-wi 2016-04-24
<timlinux13> whois timlinux13
