Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!diab!pf
From: pf@diab.se (Per Fogelstr|m)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: More Snake bytes.
Message-ID: <569@diab.se>
Date: 3 Apr 91 09:45:14 GMT
References: <2004@kuling.UUCP> <8840021@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>
Reply-To: pf@diab.UUCP (Per Fogelstr|m)
Organization: Diab Data AB, Taby, Sweden
Lines: 42

In article <8840021@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM> maf@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Mark Forsyth) writes:
>>From: mash@mips.com (John Mashey)
>
>>the line of well-implemented single-issue, 1-level cache RISCs,
>>i.e., SPECint = .75-.80X MHz.
>
>The integer "performance" is 2.7 times the 25 MHz R3000 (DEC 5000/200). 
>Speed is an extremely important high performance design technique. If 
>you normalize it out you end up with a truely meaningless indicator of
>performance and one that users shouldn't and don't care about.
>
>>
>>-john mashey	DISCLAIMER: <generic disclaimer, I speak for me only, etc>
>
>- Mark Forsyth

I think Mashey's statement is correct. It's not meaningless to compare
normalized SPECint because it gives You a good indicator on how well
the architecure is implemented. The proof is the SPECint figure for
Sparc which is very low compared to others. You might guess why.
My conclusion from this is that even if the clock frequency is increased
for the sparc chips, they will not achive the same performance as others
built with the same chip technology, eg. the headroom is lower.
If we could push the clock frequency for the R3000 up to 66Mhz it would,
if we scale the results, perform equally well with the HP9000/730.
Of course this only shows that the architectures are performing about the
same, though there are no 66Mhz R3000, only 40Mhz. But then there is
the R4000......

Well, this was the technical point of view, and it would not help the
customers that want the boxes today, but I'm an design engineer.

So if i wanted the best price/performance solution for my fp intensive
application today, i would probably chose an HP9000/730.

Ok, You are welcome to flame, but send marketing trash to /dev/null.

-- 
Per Fogelstrom,  Diab Data AB
SNAIL: Box 2029, S-183 02 Taby, Sweden
ANALOG: +46 8-7680660
EMAIL: mcsun!sunic!diab!pf  or  pf@diab.se