[R] Optimal platform for R

[Michael Prager]

gwelleni at bidmc.harvard.edu wrote on 3/9/2006 4:47 PM:
> I'm looking to buy a new desktop which will primarily be used for
> analyses of large datasets (100s of MB). I've seen postings from several
> years back re the 'optimal' platform for running R, but nothing more
> recently. 
>  
>
> Specifically, I want to know: 1) if I run R under Windows, does having a
> dual-processor machine help speed things up? And 2) is it still true
> that R performs about as well under Windows as Linux? 
>   

Duncan Murdoch has already answered your questions about operating
systems.  I would like to add that if there is significant I/O in what
you are doing, fast SCSI disks are a worthwhile investment.  The speed
increase over ATA or SATA disks has been, in my experience, quite
noticeable.

-- 
Michael H. Prager, Ph.D.
Population Dynamics Team
NOAA Center for Coastal Habitat and Fisheries Research
NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center
Beaufort, North Carolina  28516  USA
http://shrimp.ccfhrb.noaa.gov/~mprager/