Dual Core Linux Performance: Two Penguins are Better than One
by Kristopher Kubicki on July 1, 2005 5:55 AM EST- Posted in
- Linux
Final Thoughts
You'll notice we didn't spend a lot of time on discussing the outcome of some of our benchmarks in retrospect to their Windows counterparts. The Windows tests are not quite the same as our Linux ones in all cases, making it hard to draw accurate conclusions between operating systems. On the other hand, we have left a lot of not-so-subtle hints as to our feelings concerning performance between the two. Benchmarks like the DVD transcoding performed poorer on Linux but we noticed tighter disparity between the single core and dual core chips.
The distinctions between the AMD and Intel hardware in these benchmarks should be very apparent. At the time of this publication the prices of each processor (from RTPE) tested were as follows:
- Pentium D 840 - $558.00
- Pentium D 820 - $251.50
- Pentium 4 660 - $613.00
- Pentium 4 640 - $272.00
- Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester - $540.00
- Athlon 64 3800+ Venice - $367.00
- Athlon 64 3500+ Venice - $267.00
Some benchmarks, like the Doom3 analysis, proved excessively in AMD's favor. This also happens to be true in single core and Windows benchmarks, so it's hard to really call this a design win for AMD on just Linux. There were other instances where AMD had a running start and never looked back, like the last Neverwinter Nights benchmark on the previous page. Intel came out ahead in all three of our first benchmarks; which was certainly an interesting refresh as well.
At $540 you pay through the nose for the additional performance of the Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (paying $558 for a Pentium D 840 isn't exactly a bargain either). In our opinion, the Pentium D 820 is really an underdog in this roundup, but don't let the $252 price tag fool you; at the time we were obtaining the hardware for this analysis we had to spend an extra $50 over the cost of the OCZ memory used in the AMD system for the Corsair DDR2. Furthermore, the poor performance on Doom3 hints at something most of us already know; Athlon 64 beats the pants off Intel in games, even on Linux. If you don't plan on gaming much on Linux, the Pentium D 820 becomes a real tempting option.
Once again, we owe special thanks to Monarch Computer for rushing us the Intel motherboard used in this analysis.
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sweatshopking - Saturday, May 9, 2009 - link
maybe we should take the linux tab off the top since nobody has updated since '05....PrincessNybor - Sunday, June 21, 2009 - link
I was just going to say the same thing. If Anandtech isn't going to cover Linux, then just remove the tab and call it a day. If you are going to even pretend to make Linux a priority, then perhaps at least ONE article per YEAR would be a nice way to start. No articles since 2005 is just embarrassing.Ryan offered that Ubuntu article well over a year ago, and has offered nothing but excuses since then. I realize you are all busy, and I don't fault him for anything besides not coming out and saying that Linux isn't a priority at Anandtech.
rossmcdonald - Thursday, September 11, 2008 - link
Didn't AT talk about doing a linux for a month article many months ago?Milleman - Sunday, September 14, 2008 - link
Yepp! He/they did!What happened to that one? They've probably lost it down the drain somewhere. Or is M$ paying them to not favor any other O/S now...? Somehow it seems that AT lost all interrest in Linux. Bad move...
forkd - Monday, November 17, 2008 - link
I agree, Anandtech wasn't a bad source of linux info 'til this article stopped everything.I'm not really upset but I am a little disappointed.
At some point they should take the Linux tab off of the website.
Years ago I subscribed to consumerreports.com for information on products I was considering on purchasing. I quickly realized that most of the articles on things i looked for were out dated by years.
Of course I never paid for my anandtech subscription so I can't complain about them leaning toward more profitable press.
Milleman - Sunday, June 15, 2008 - link
Hello??Is this the latest Linux article from Anand, made 3 years ago...?
Come on...
fstratzero - Saturday, March 22, 2008 - link
I'd say testing linux is freaking hard to do. I'm a Gentoo linux user.And having complied tons of kernels over the years, performance can range greatly in what options you use in your kernel. I found that the CFQ scheduler can hurt performance since it tries to spread out cpu usage evenly between all processes.
That and also with linux you could assign a single process to a single core. Alternatively you could "nice" the application ie lower priority and still have a really usable system.
People in our forums will compile stuff on one cpu and use the other for playing games while having tons of crap running in the background, and report their seemingly invincible performance feeling.
Although I don't know much about Suse, I'd say this review is pretty well done for people that don't "get under the hood." Yet if you do get your hands a little wet with nice and taskset, you can do just about anything and hardly feel a slow down.
orbatos - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
Why no Shake vs. Shake, sure 3.5 isn't available, but 3.01(?) would be fine. Where's GIMP on windows? NewTek's LightWave® 3D 7.5b != ScreamerNet 7.5b , Why not go Blender vs. Blender or Maya vs. Maya? Who uses Mozilla Composer as an alternative to Dreamweaver as opposed to the myriad of other available web dev software? Outlook? what about Thunderbird on Windows? XMMS vs. iTunes doesn't make sense, they're different types of applications, try Rhythmbox. WinZip vs. Gzip doesn't make sense, try comparing a GUI tool. MS Office vs. OO.o, at least try the windows versions! If you're comparing workalikes as opposed to the same software, don't compare Nero vs. Nero, the Linux version is terrible.Suggestion: WaveLab is a do-all of audio manipulation, not the type of software that has direct analog under Linux, try looking at suites of software that can be used to the same effect all through a similar interface (e.g. JACK). Antivirus? ClamAV sounds decent, did you even look?
hojit - Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - link
Has any one pointed out the mod15 error using the sil3112/3114 and the seagate hd's the hardware in the article seems to suggest a conflict on the amd system. I had this same issue and it killed all my speeds for things like transcoding and any thing hd intencive.MarcusAsleep - Saturday, July 9, 2005 - link
Howdy!I was just wondering what kernel and kernel settings you were using. Since the article was on multi-tasking it seems especially relevent since the development of low-latency/preemptable options in recent years!
Any clue?
Mark.