OT - I agree, fast disks are important. But, as well, dual CPUs are probably more useful than more clock speed, when running NT or 2000.
Problem with non-Intel chips is that there are precious few multi-CPU solutions out there. (If any? I read that for a time it was possible to run dual Athlons, but then AMD turned off that capability? True or false?)
Now, it seems counter-intuitive - we've read again and again that 2 CPUs will not give the same speed as doubling the clock speed.
But that's ignoring the operating system...
NT and 2000 (as well as 95/98, but we can't do anything about them, because they don't support multiple CPUs...) are susceptable to "greedy" software which can monopolize the CPU, or at least monopolize the Windows GUI. A typical symptom is finding that you can't get control of the GUI, or the GUI is VERY slow when you run certain programs. The popular RealTick III quote software is an example of this. Older versions of Quotes Plus are another example. When RealTick III gets busy, just TRY to do anything else on your computer - run your browser, or even try to get to the Task Manager to shut the damn thing down.
Dual CPUs are the instant cure for this behaviour. It is SO nice to be able to browse the web while doing ANYTHING else, and without needing a separate machine. (I think a lot of traders that resort to multiple PCs would find that a single machine running Win2000 and dual CPUs would work just as well.) I think it is just a flaw in Windows - it has some choke-points that are cleared-up when you add a second CPU.
(And, yes, I'm aware of the fact that Windows also has some choke-points that come into play when you add a second CPU. For example, the memory allocation scheme that is built-in to Visual C++ operates in such a way that it is mutually-exclusive between multiple CPU. If it is in the middle of allocating memory on one CPU, and the other CPU attempts to allocate memory at the same time, the second CPU must wait. Some third party libraries get around this.)
Clearly I'm a big fan of "dual" stuff - besides dual PIII/933's I also have 2 Seagate X15 (15,000 RPM) drives. Invites some intriguing configurations. I use Raid-0 volumes to increase the speed of my swap file and temp files. At the same time, I use a mirrored volume for critical data. This is easy to set up with Win2K and two drives. And I just added a UPS with an big external battery pack (so sue me if that's not exactly "dual") to cope with the dismal California energy situation... |
