- #1
linux kid
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Where can I get a list of processing speeds in mbps for the major intel processors?
What are the MIPS ratings for major Intel processors?
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Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the performance metrics of major Intel processors, specifically focusing on processing speeds and the concept of MIPS (Million Instructions Per Second). Participants explore the relevance and accuracy of different performance indicators, including mbps and MIPS, in the context of CPU performance.
Discussion Character
- Debate/contested
- Technical explanation
Main Points Raised
- One participant requests a list of processing speeds in mbps for Intel processors, prompting clarification on the term used.
- Another participant questions the meaning of "mbps" and suggests that it may not be applicable to CPU performance metrics.
- A different participant raises concerns about the ambiguity of "bits" and the context of the measurement, suggesting that it may relate more to memory or bus speed rather than CPU processing speed.
- One participant discusses the architecture of processors, mentioning pipeline stages and branch prediction, and suggests that clock speed and pipeline length are indicators of performance.
- Another participant argues that mbps is not a meaningful indicator of CPU performance due to the parallel processing nature of CPUs and the differences in bus schemes and opcode capabilities.
- A later reply clarifies that the original request might have intended to refer to MIPS, providing a link to a Wikipedia page that lists MIPS ratings for various CPUs, including a comparison of an Intel processor to an older IBM model.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants do not reach a consensus on the appropriate metrics for measuring CPU performance, with multiple competing views on the relevance of mbps versus MIPS and the factors influencing CPU speed.
Contextual Notes
There are unresolved assumptions regarding the definitions of processing speed metrics and the context in which they are applied, as well as the potential confusion between different performance indicators.
- #2
verty
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millibits per second?
- #3
whatta
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what bits? going from where to where? undergoing what transformations? it seems more like memory or bus speed. they use flops for CPUs.
- #4
verty
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Well these processors have pipelines of say 15-30 stages or whatever. That means that an instruction has a 30 cycle turnaround time. Of course, the instructions are 'pipelined' so that many are put into the pipe one after the other. There is branch prediction logic to know what future instructions to put into the pipe.
Of course mistakes will be made and then there is a lag to bypass those erroneous instructions that were pipelined. So the performance can differ depending on the software itself. I think that usually the clock speed and the pipeline length are good indicators of the processor speed.
Notably, the earlier Athlons had a much shorter pipeline than the P4's which led to them having a PR rating, like 1700+ which actually ran at 1200Mhz or whatever, don't quote that figure.
Of course mistakes will be made and then there is a lag to bypass those erroneous instructions that were pipelined. So the performance can differ depending on the software itself. I think that usually the clock speed and the pipeline length are good indicators of the processor speed.
Notably, the earlier Athlons had a much shorter pipeline than the P4's which led to them having a PR rating, like 1700+ which actually ran at 1200Mhz or whatever, don't quote that figure.
- #5
ChrisLeslie
linux kid,
mbps is not a meaningful cpu performance indicator because (Intel) CPUs process in parallel. CPU speed is a measure based on the clocking rate forced on a CPU but does not accurately indicate final processing speed because different CPUs have different bus schemes and op code capability. "Bus speed", in XHz and slower than CPU speed, indicates how fast a system bus transfers wide words in parallel. Google "Intel specs".
mbps is not a meaningful cpu performance indicator because (Intel) CPUs process in parallel. CPU speed is a measure based on the clocking rate forced on a CPU but does not accurately indicate final processing speed because different CPUs have different bus schemes and op code capability. "Bus speed", in XHz and slower than CPU speed, indicates how fast a system bus transfers wide words in parallel. Google "Intel specs".
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- #6
MeJennifer
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Perhaps you mean MIPS which stands for "million instructions per second"?linux kid said:
In that case there is a Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_instructions_per_second" that lists the number of MIPS for various CPUs.
According to the article an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 is rated at 57063 MIPS. Quite amazing, an IBM System/370 model 158-3 from 1972, which at the time was considered a pretty powerful computer, is rated at only 1 MIPS.
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