Subject: Re: Beautiful Sparc, take 2
To: Doom Warrior <doomwarriorx@gmail.com>
From: Timo Schoeler <timo.schoeler@riscworks.net>
List: port-sparc
Date: 05/30/2006 08:53:16
thus Doom Warrior spake:
>> SuperSPARC/SuperSPARC II were brainiacs, the HyperSPARC were speed
>> daemons. highest speed for SuperSPARC II was 90MHz, and those were very
>> rare.
>>
> 
> that's not true, a HyperSparc and SuperSparc are nearly at the same
> level. Only the huge L2 Cache of an SuperSparc is a advantage. I would
> always perfer a HyperSparc.

SPEC.org says on the SPEC CPU95 benchmark:

SPARCstation/server 20 Model 71		3.11		2.82
(March 96, 75MHz SuperSPARC II)
http://www.spec.org/osg/cpu95/results/res96q1/cpu95-960228-00485.html

SPARCstation 20 Model 151		4.02		3.77
(March 96, 150MHz HyperSPARC)
http://www.spec.org/osg/cpu95/results/res96q1/cpu95-960228-00487.html

HyperSPARC *needs* high clock frequencies, as can be seen here, to 
perform well.

> Yes the SM85 is really rare and not supportet by sun for the
> SS10/SS20. Of course they run out of the box but you will get into
> overheating problems (especially in the SS20)

yes, that's why they're not supported. put in two hot HDs and there's 
really a problem. build in better fans, and you can go for a quad 
HyperSPARC with two HDs.

i really like the HyperSPARC, but i'd only use top end because the speed 
increase of non top end HyperSPARCs is not worth money/time/etc. spent.

furthermore, in most workloads the huge cache of the SuperSPARC II 
really is important.

cheers,

-- 
Timo Schoeler | http://riscworks.net/~tis | timo.schoeler@riscworks.net
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