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From: wolfgang@dailyplanet.wsrcc.com (Wolfgang Rupprecht)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.networking,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.sys.sun.misc
Subject: Sparc vs. x86 speed (was Re: Linux vs BSD)
Date: 23 Jan 1997 10:35:04 -0800
Organization: W S Rupprecht Computer Consulting, Fremont CA
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Ruediger Koch <rkoch@samart.co.th> writes:
>regularly. For the mailserver, we replaced a Sparcstation 20 with 64MB
>by a P133 with 32MB. The load went down from 1-2 to 0.05-0.3! Two of the
>fucking expensive Suns are catching dust now.
I'd like to echo those sentiments. For over 10 years I've been
running nothing but BSD machines. For the longest of times the only
serious choice was Sun/SunOS (Vax/BSD always tied you to their vastly
overpriced peripherals).
I was quite suprised to hear a coworker someone claim that a
multi-hour compile of a large source tree (on an ss5) could be done in
1/4th the time on a PentiumPro under NetBSD. (Yea right!) Well it
was true. As a matter of fact a PPro-150 could do the compile in
approx 3/4 the user time that an SS20 could do it in. That was quite
a shocker. Checking the benchmarks of the two machines
(eg. SpecFoo's) showed a roughly similar speed ratio.
I sure hope that the Sun sales/markening droids have some spin they
can put on these facts. They'll need it as more and more folks
realise how far Sun has slipped behind commodity hardware.
specint-95:
SS5: 85Mhz 1.37
SS20: 150Mhz 3.77
PPRO: 150Mhz 4.27
specmarks speed ratio:
ss5-85/ppro-150: 1:4
ss20-150/ppro-150: 1:1.13
-wolfgang "The sounds of splashing as I jump off this sinking ship"
PS. Ironically today's San Jose Mercury News has a picture of a
rather weary looking Ed Zanders standing in front of a
coffin-sized "Ultra Entrerprise 10000 server".
--
Wolfgang Rupprecht <wolfgang@wsrcc.com> <http://www.wsrcc.com/>