He spoke of NT not handling two processors efficiently resulting in "processor thrashing" where the OS spent too much time deciding which processor it was going to use for what. Net result was same (or even lower) performance.
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The answer is "it depends", and it really isn't an OS-specific issue.
If you are talking about a PC, where most apps are single-threaded, and the user is often performing a single task, SMP is of little or no benefit. You're better off with a faster processor.
If you are talking about a server, where apps are commonly multi-threaded and connections may be coming in simultaneously from dozens or hundreds of users, SMP is crucial.
For the sake of this discussion, think of "PC apps" as Quake 3, MS Office, Internet Explorer, etc. "Server apps" would include SQL Server, Exchange, SAP R/3, etc. Of course, there are exceptions. High-end engineering software is generally multi-threaded, which is why most hardware vendors offer SMP-capable "Workstations".
- Eric |
