Multiprocessor Systems: The More the Merrier?

Once again, the raw FPU power of the Pentium II 450 is simply too great to be outdone by the performance of the Dual Pentium II 300 system under MicroStation (CADD), meaning most CAD designers will want to opt for a faster single CPU rather than two slower ones, however the ideal upgrade would be one to a dual Pentium II 450 system, unfortunately that is not always possible in which case a single 450 on a board capable of dual processors would be an excellent choice.

Graphics artists will be among those benefiting the most from a dual processor system here, AnandTech's Dual Pentium II 300 outperformed the 300MHz base system by 40% under Photoshop, and it distanced itself from the new Pentium II 450 system by an 9% performance differential, nothing too incredibly great, however when you consider the price difference between adding a second 300MHz processor and upgrading to a 450MHz system, it's not too shabby.

The situation under Microsoft Visual C++ remains virtually unchanged from the previous benchmark set with 128MB of RAM, illustrating a bit of the diminishing returns principle when it comes to memory upgrades. The Dual Pentium II 300 system still held on to its lead over the single Pentium II 450, but let's see how the jump to 384MB of RAM changes that, if at all.

With 384MB of RAM the standings remain virtually unchanged, and the performance gap between the Dual Pentium II 300 and the Single Pentium II 450 remains strong. The CAD performance of the Pentium II 450 keeps the Dual Pentium II 300 at a close second, and definitely offers an improvement over the base system, the Pentium II 300. Graphics artists will still get the most benefit out of a multiprocessor system, so long as it is equipped with enough RAM to meet the needs of your applications. Development professionals will also find a Dual Processor system more worth while of an upgrade, once again, provided that the system has a minimum of 128MB of RAM. It seems like the days when 64MB was an ideal target to shoot for are quickly coming to an end, for a professional system, anything under 128MB of RAM wouldn't be desirable, with the sweet spot being around 256 - 384MB of RAM.