[R] choosing of CPU's to run R

[Patrick Burns]

My guess is that there is not a
simple answer.

My newest machines are extremely
fast at doing:
    sum(rnorm(1e6))
relative to my older machines.
But they are not so much faster at
doing the work that I actually
want done.

But if there is a simple answer, I'd
be keen to hear it.



Patrick Burns
patrick at burns-stat.com
+44 (0)20 8525 0696
http://www.burns-stat.com
(home of "The R Inferno" and "A Guide for the Unwilling S User")

huang min wrote:
> Thanks, Joshua. It's quite helpful. Hope someone can give some idea whether
> the Hz or the QPI is relatively important in computing.
> 
> Huang
> 
> On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 4:41 PM, Joshua Wiley <jwiley.psych at gmail.com>wrote:
> 
>> Dear Huang,
>>
>> I do not know how either of these run R in particular.  However, the price
>> difference is because the E5540 is a newer line of chip architecture than
>> the W3540.  One of the differences is the speed that data can be transferred
>> to and from the chip (Intel now calls it the QPI, it used to be called the
>> front side bus or just FSB).
>>
>> E5540's QPI speed is 5.8 gigatransfers per second
>> W3540's QPI speed is 4.6 gigatransfers per second.
>>
>> You might also be interested in how much power they take.
>>
>> E5540 uses a maximum 80 watts
>> W3540 uses a maximum 130 watts
>>
>> They both handle the same type (DDR3) and speed (1066) of RAM.
>>
>> If you want more details about them google
>>
>> "Gainsetown" the E5540 architecture codename
>> "Bloomfield" the W3540 architecture codename
>>
>> I doubt you would see a big performance difference either way, but I cannot
>> say that for certain.
>>
>> I hope that at least gives you a bit more information about them.  Sorry I
>> cannot give a straightforward answer.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Joshua
>>
>>   On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 1:00 AM, huang min <minhuangr at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>  Dear All,
>>>
>>> I am considering to buy a workstation. For the CPUs, I wonder whether
>>> anybody have the experience in choosing one for the R.
>>>
>>>
>>> Intel Xeon W3540 2.93 8MB/1066 QC CPU is much cheaper as compared with the
>>> Intel Xeon E5540 2.53 8MB/1066 QC CPU. However, its Hz 2.93 is bigger than
>>> 2.53. I wonder which one would run R quicker. Thank you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Huang
>>>
>>>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html<http://www.r-project.org/posting-guide.html>
>>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Joshua Wiley
>> Senior in Psychology
>> University of California, Riverside
>> http://www.joshuawiley.com/
>>
> 
> 	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> 
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>