1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
|
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Expires" CONTENT="Tue, 14 Jul 1998 21:29:02 GMT">
<meta name="Author" content="William Henning">
<meta name="Description" content="www.cpureview.com: computer hardware reviews">
<meta name="KeyWords" content="amd cyrix ibm idt intel 686 k6 P2 PII review reviews motherboard video card chip processor magazine">
<TITLE>Linux Kernel Compilation Benchmark</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF">
<H1>Linux Kernel Compilation Benchmark</H1>
<FONT FACE="Comic Sans MS">
by <A HREF="mailto:editor@cpureview.com"><I>William Henning</I></A><BR>
Editor, <A HREF="http://www.cpureview.com">CPUReview</A></FONT><BR>
Copyright July 1, 1998<BR>
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED<BR>
<P>I have purchased a K6-2/266Mhz processor and a Soyo 5EHM Super7
motherboard specifically so that I would be able to benchmark the K6-2
against Intel PII and Cyrix processors. Since I have been running Linux
since the v0.10 days, I thought it would be useful to perform some
benchmarks under Linux. Here are my findings.</P>
<P>As I have time (and access to equipment) to add additional results, I
will update this page. Soon I hope to add PII results (ABIT LX6, 64Mb 10ns
Hyundai SDRAM, Riva 128, same 1.6Gb WD hard drive).</P>
<H2>System Description - Super Socket 7</H2>
<UL>
<LI>Soyo 5EHM motherboard (MVP3, AGP, 1M cache, Super7)</LI>
<LI>64Mb 10ns SDRAM (Hyundai, 2x32Mb sticks)</LI>
<LI>1.6Gb Western Digital hard drive</LI>
<LI>Asus 3DExplorer AGP (Riva 128)</LI>
</UL>
<H2>System Description - Slot 1</H2>
<UL>
<LI>ABIT LX6 Slot 1 motherboard</LI>
<LI>64Mb 10ns SDRAM (Hyundai, 2x32Mb sticks)</LI>
<LI>1.6Gb Western Digital hard drive</LI>
<LI>Asus 3DExplorer AGP (Riva 128)</LI>
</UL>
<H2>Methodology</H2>
<UL>
<LI>'make clean; make dep; time make zdisk'</LI>
<LI>using the same kernel configuration under Redhat 5.0 </LI>
<LI>Linux v2.0.32, with this <A HREF="config.txt">.config</A> file</LI>
<LI>GCC v2.7.2.3</LI>
</UL>
<P> <HR> <P>
<H2>Cyrix/IBM PR233 Results</H2>
<P> <HR> <P>
<TABLE WIDTH="80%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR Rating</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Voltage</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Setting</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">BogoM</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">User</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">System</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Elapsed</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU util</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR200</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.9</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5X66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">166.30</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">283.22</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">21.26</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">5:28.56</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">92%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR233</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.9</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2X100</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">199.88</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">236.4</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">17.48</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:35.97</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">91%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR233</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.9</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5X75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">187.19</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">257.99</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">20.17</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">5:01.32</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">92%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR266</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.9</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5X83</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">207.67</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">233.75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">19.51</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:35.40</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">91%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<H2>AMD K6-2 266 Results</H2>
<TABLE WIDTH="80%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR Rating</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Voltage</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Setting</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">BogoM</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">User</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">System</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Elapsed</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU util</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">166</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">332.60</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">274.57</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">24.11</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">5:22.43</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">92%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">187.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.2</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5x75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">374.37</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">244.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">20.38</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:47.52</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">92%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">200</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">398.95</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">242.10</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">21.42</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:37.33</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">91%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">210</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.2</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5x83</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">415.33</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">221.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">19.96</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:18.61</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">93%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">233</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">465</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">220.53</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">19.55</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:24.61</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">90%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">250</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.2</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5x100</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">499.71</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">183.13</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">17.64</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:43.42</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">89%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">266</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">4x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">530.84</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">199.90</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">19.55</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">4:04.19</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">89%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">280</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.2</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">2.5x112</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">558.69</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">164.17</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">15.29</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:23.83</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">88%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">300</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">4.5x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">598.02</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">187.84</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">19.63</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:51.50</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">89%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">300</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">4x75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">598.02</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">176.94</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">19.26</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:37.84</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">90%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">300</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">2.3</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3x100</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">599.65</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">161.73</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">15.06</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:20.87</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">88%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<H2>Intel Pentium-II 233 Results</H2>
<TABLE WIDTH="80%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR Rating</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Voltage</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Setting</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">BogoM</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">User</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">System</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Elapsed</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU util</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">233</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">Default</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">233.47</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">197.46</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">15.25</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:57.26</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">89%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">262.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">Default</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">262.14</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">180.75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">12.73</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:38.96</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">88%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">291.7</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">Default</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x83</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">291.64</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">157.49</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">11.69</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">3:12.69</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">87%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<H2>Simulated Celeron Results - Intel Pentium-II 233 with L2 Cache disabled</H2>
<TABLE WIDTH="80%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR Rating</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Voltage</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Setting</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">BogoM</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">User</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">System</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Elapsed</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU util</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">233</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">Default</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x66</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">233.47</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">324.07</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">20.19</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">6:08.43</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">93%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">262.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">Default</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">262.14</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">291.43</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">16.96</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">5:32.61</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">92%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="67" ALIGN="CENTER" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">291.7</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">Default</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">3.5x83</TD>
<TD WIDTH="55" ALIGN="CENTER">291.64</TD>
<TD WIDTH="54" ALIGN="CENTER">262.19</TD>
<TD WIDTH="52" ALIGN="CENTER">16.10</TD>
<TD WIDTH="58" ALIGN="CENTER">5:02.45</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" ALIGN="CENTER">92%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P> <HR> <P>
<H2>Discussion of results</H2>
<P> <HR> <P>
<P>Please note, in the comparisons below, only the "User" time of the
kernel compilations is used.</P>
BogoMips is equivalent to the megahertz it is running at, and the AMD K6-2
has a BogoMips rating that is twice the megahertz it is run at.</P>
<P>In order to be able to make a direct, Mhz-to-Mhz comparison of the
processors, I underclocked the K6-2 to run at 2.5x75 (Cyrix PR233 rating)
and 2.5x83 (PR266 rating). Comparing the total elapsed time for the
compilation, we find that:</P>
<H3>Comparison by actual Mhz</H3>
<TABLE WIDTH="50%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Cyrix</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Amd</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Amd % faster</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">2.5x75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60">257.99</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56">244.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92">5.23%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">2.5x83</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60">233.75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56">221.5</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92">5.24%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P>The AMD K6-2 processor seems to be 5.25% faster than a Cyrix MX
processor at the same clock speed. The PR rating system would not seem to
apply to Linux kernel compilations.</P>
<H3>Comparison by PR rating</H3>
<TABLE WIDTH="50%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Cyrix</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Amd</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Amd % faster</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR233</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60">257.99</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56">220.53</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92">14.52%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">PR266</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60">233.75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56">199.90</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92">14.48%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P>The AMD K6-2 is 14.5% faster than a Cyrix/IBM 686MX when comparing
a K6-2 at the same Mhz as a Cyrix chip is PR rated for.
</P>
<H2>How about the Pentium II?</H2>
<P>
I wanted to see how the P2 would compare to the K6-2. As I only have
a P2-233, I had to overclock it to approach 300Mhz. Please note, I used
an extra 3" fan blowing air at the CPU.
</P>
<H3>Comparison between P2 and K6-2</H3>
<TABLE WIDTH="50%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">CPU</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">P2</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">Amd</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">P2 % faster</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">266Mhz #1</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60">180.75</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56">183.13</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92">1.3%</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="84" BGCOLOR="#80FFFF">300Mhz #2</TD>
<TD WIDTH="60">157.49</TD>
<TD WIDTH="56">161.71</TD>
<TD WIDTH="92">2.6%</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P><FONT SIZE="-1">NOTES</FONT></P>
<OL>
<LI><FONT SIZE="-1">P2 at 262.5Mhz (75x3.5), K6-2 at 250Mhz (2.5x100)
</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT SIZE="-1">P2 at 291.6Mhz (83x3.5), K6-2 at 300Mhz (3x100)
</FONT></LI>
</OL>
<P>
The P2 was faster for compiling the kernel by less than three percent.
There is no point in comparing the K6-2 to the Celeron - see the
simulated Celeron benchmarks on the previous page. The Celeron is not
suitable for use as a Linux development machine.
</P>
<P> <HR> <P>
<H3>Price Comparison</H3>
<P> <HR> <P>
<P>As we all know, absolute performance is just part of deciding which
processor to get. If cost was no object, we would all be running Kryotech
Alpha 767's, or dual PII-400's. For reference purposes, here are some
prices, in US$, as 1:14pm PST of July 5 from PriceWatch. </P>
<TABLE WIDTH="50%" BORDER="1">
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">CPU </TD>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">233</TD>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">266</TD>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">300</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">Cyrix</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$49</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$74</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$96</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">AMD K6-2</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">n/a</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$113</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$163</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">AMD K6</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$68</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$93</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$125</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#80FFFF" ALIGN="CENTER">Pentium II</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$158</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$177</TD>
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">$235</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<H2>Conclusion</H2>
<P>There is no question that the Cyrix processors provide excellent
performance for a low cost. The K6 (non-3d) processors are also an
excellent value, however as I don't have such a CPU I was unable to run
tests on one - but I would expect that on the same motherboard with
similar memory and hard disk the performance of the plain K6's would be
very close to the K6-2's.</P>
<P>The K6-2 appears to be an excellent value for a developer's machine. A
14.5% increase in speed over the 686MX is difficult to ignore.
The P2 is less than three percent faster than the K6-2 at comparable
speeds. I do not think that such a small difference in speed justifies
the price differential between the P2 and the K6-2.</P>
<P>I hope you found this article to be of use. Please remember that I
welcome feedback on this (or other) articles. I can be contacted at
<A HREF="mailto:editor@cpureview.com">editor@cpureview.com.</A></P>
<P>Regards,</P>
<FONT FACE="Comic Sans MS">
<A HREF="mailto:editor@cpureview.com"><I>William Henning</I></A><BR>
Editor, <A HREF="http://www.cpureview.com">CPUReview</A></FONT><BR><BR>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<center><H5>Copyright © 1998, William Henning <BR>
Published in Issue 32 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, September 1998</H5></center>
<!--===================================================================-->
<P> <hr> <P>
<A HREF="./lg_toc32.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/indexnew.gif"
ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
<A HREF="../lg_frontpage.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../gx/homenew.gif"
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
<A HREF="./jenkins1.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/back2.gif"
ALT=" Back "></A>
<A HREF="./bandel.html"><IMG SRC="../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
<P> <hr> <P>
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
</BODY>
</HTML>
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
|
