Re: Any recommendations for new hardware (quadcore/GPUs)?
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg117058] Re: Any recommendations for new hardware (quadcore/GPUs)?
- From: telefunkenvf14 <rgorka at gmail.com>
- Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2011 06:55:42 -0500 (EST)
- References: <iknsc6$k98$1@smc.vnet.net> <201103071047.FAA06193@smc.vnet.net> <il52j2$o0k$1@smc.vnet.net>
On Mar 8, 5:06 am, "Emilio Martin-Serrano Sobrino" <emartinserr... at telefonica.net> wrote: > Hi, > > Good advice! > > I have just moving to new hardware, currently testing a desktop Acer i5 > dual core, 3.2 GHz 64bits plus 4Gb RAM (Windows 7) with NVIDIA GForce 315 - > 512Mb; I am a bit disappointed with the new desktop, since I have not found > much difference in performance in respect to my, veteran but yet at work, > HP 3.60 GHz, 32 bits plus 1Gb RAM (XP/SP3). In particular the response to > heavy use of dynamic devices (sliders, manipulators and others, which I > sometimes use to trigger fairly entangled computations). I make heavy use of > Dynamic and I thought that this new machine was going to solve some > significant performance problems tied to the feature IMHO. > > I gather from what you say that RAM is, with Mathematica, far more > important than CPU (is this that with Dynamic too), and so I might go > beyond the 4 Gb RAM; and that the GForce 315 - 512Mb card the Acer I5 > brings (yet with CUDA & OpenCL support) would be not enough either. Since I > am to return the brand new Acer to the dealer, (Acer, or maybe the dealer, > advertised the machine had 6Gb RAM instead of the 4Gb it actually has), I > would tray another machine with larger configuration. (1) 4GB of RAM is plenty. If you're filling up a bunch of ram (due to data Import, for example), then you probably should be using functions like OpenRead[] and/or utilize Mathematica's ability to connect to databases. (2). A solid state hard-drive is worth the investment, especially for laptops. (your laptop is probably too old to accept one...). (3) *****No amount of hardware upgrading can overcome inefficient code!!!***** > Something additional to take in account, in my case, is that the V8HE > that I am now using only supports 34Bits. So, in which degree could this be > more or less balanced (in respect to 64bits support) by installing more RAM? > > Any additional comments will be welcome. > > Thank you. > > E. Martin-Serrano > > An additional consideration is that the V8 HE I am using now does not > support 64 bits. > > -----Mensaje original----- > De: telefunkenvf14 [mailto:rgo... at gmail.com] > Enviado el: lunes, 07 de marzo de 2011 11:47 > Para: mathgr... at smc.vnet.net > Asunto: Re: Any recommendations for new hardware (quadcore/GPUs)? > > On Mar 3, 5:00 am, Yves Klett <yves.kl... at googlemail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Hi, > > > there are not too many benchmarks for current (especially mobile) > > hardware to be found, so perhaps someone can give some information on > > their preferred hardware? > > > Two things interest me in particular: > > a) will a quadcore (i7) offer significantly more performance than a > > dual core? Of course this depends on the nature of the task... > > > b) Is there any difference between cheaper gaming cards (e.g. NVidia > > GTX) versus expensive professional cards (e.g. NVidia Quadro), > > especially concerning CUDA/OpenCL? > > > Any impressions are welcome. > > > Yves > > Beware of laptops with switchable graphics. My Sony Z is awesome... > EXCEPT for the fact that the switchable graphics mechanism makes it > impossible to update the NVidia drivers (without either hacking together a > custom driver package or hacking the bios to force the machine to use only > the NVidia graphics). I'm beginning to wonder if Sony will ever update the > graphics drivers for my machine. (very irritating to have Sony blathering on > about supporting CUDA... and then failing to support CUDA). > > Laptops I'd consider if I had to do it all over again (by order of > preference): > > Lenovo w510 > Dell Precision Mobile Workstations (4500 and 6500) Lenovo T410 (uses Optimus > -- software switching between internal and NVidia graphics. Confirm driver > upgradability before you leap!) > > As for the quad vs dual-core... i7's do come in dual-core as well as > quad-core. You'll probably want to go with a dual-core i7 if you're going > with a laptop, so worry less about CPU and more about screen quality, video > card, memory and hard-drive. IMO, solid state drives are a must---but you > should probably upgrade the drive yourself as Lenovo and Dell were waaaay > overcharging for these components. The Intel x25-M is a good choice > (although appears to be currently phasing out due to Intel releasing it's > new 510 series). > > -RG
- References:
- Re: Any recommendations for new hardware (quadcore/GPUs)?
- From: telefunkenvf14 <rgorka@gmail.com>
- Re: Any recommendations for new hardware (quadcore/GPUs)?