Re: How are CPU Speed and Overall CPW Related?

["Neil Palmer" <neilp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

PC vs 400.  You're trying to compare the performance of a motorcycle to a 
bus.  Are zero to 60 times meaningful in this comparison?
What about miles per gallon.  Now what about passenger miles per gallon. 
Admittedly with one passenger in the bus the numbers may not look good in 
comparison to the motorcycle - but what if you need to move 60 passengers. 
 

...Neil
. 




"Nathan M. Andelin" <nathanma@haaga.com>
Sent by: owner-midrange-l@midrange.com
2001/05/02 18:03
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        Subject:        Re: How are CPU Speed and Overall CPW Related?


> From: Jim Damato <jdamato@dollargeneral.com>

> In your opinion, what do you think is the reason that
> IBM is governing the CPU?  Is there a technical reason
> why they would want to do it?

With all due respect to Alexei Pytel, I believe "governor" is the correct
term.  My hypothesis is that the standard CPU would do more, given more
cache.  I can't think of a technical reason for limiting cache.  But maybe
there's a business reason, which I don't understand.  I'd like an
explanation too.

I believe that if IBM offered better performance for the price, then it
would attract new customers to the platform.  But IBM is in a better
position than I to make that call.

> Is this what you mean, or are you talking about something
> far less nefarious?

The thing that bothers me is the obfuscation.  Customers should have good
information, but they don't.  For example, I recall a thread in which
Patrick Townsend expressed confusion over a C program he wrote to do some
work with stream files.  He compiled the program to run on both Intel and
AS/400.  It blew him away that the Intel processor offered so much 
superior
performance.  Now it makes sense to me.  The AS/400 had a much slower
processor, which was also probably bridled.

I believe that kind of confusion is widespread.  Customers believe they 
are
buying "Big Iron", but what they getting is "Little Copper".

I appreciate how IBM provides CPW figures to compare one model to the 
next.
But IBM seems to either hide or obscure numbers that compare the AS/400 to
Intel.

Nathan.


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