micron p60
POV isn't a "perfect" benchmark tools due to its "high portability" which can
only come in detriment of efficiency. While CPU's get faster and faster,
software engineering is getting slower and slower. It's like a bunch of fat
cats napping in a rat infested barn. Get rid of the mice and the cats will have
to run for the food again. We're getting to a point where CPU performance is
going from double each year to double each 3 to 4 years. This will get worse
before it gets better as the next break through is at least a decade away. We
will, hopefully, see better coding due to this fact. Coding, more than any
magic these CPU's can pool off is much more crucial in determining a better
system performance.
Another point to make is that when one talks about floating point intensive
applications, it's usually forgotten that a great deal of time is spent doing
house keeping work (moving, branching, calling, pushing, poping, etc). All this
goes on almost as much as real floating point calculation. Regardless how
efficient a CPU is when it comes to doing math, the code generated by compilers
waste a very long time with poor house keeping code. The only way to get around
this is to know profoundly how the system works and think ahead of the
compiler. I see less and less people able to do that. People leaving schools
today know all about object orientation, classing, subclassing, and all kinds
of the "hipe" of the day but have no clue what is under the hood.
You may drive your father's oldsmobile safely not knowing what's under the
hood, but you ought to know how that V12 Ferrari engine is doing at 12,000 rpm
if you want to take the most out of it (in fact, if you don't, you won't even
be able to move it).
Geee… 'nough lecturing… <g>