Which version for P-III's?

[richs]

I have been running double checks for years using v23.8 on an old P-III 500. This version was significantly faster than v24. With the migration to the V5 server, should I keep v23.8 or switch to v25.7? Any advice?

[axn]

Originally Posted by richs

I have been running double checks for years using v23.8 on an old P-III 500. This version was significantly faster than v24. With the migration to the V5 server, should I keep v23.8 or switch to v25.7? Any advice?

If you ask me, ditch the PIII altogether and get a Core 2 Duo (Seriously. The Core 2 Duo will complete in 1 week, what the PIII can do in a year.)

But as long as you're sticking with the PIII, I don't believe 25.7 has any better support for PIII compared to v24.

[richs]

The P-III is just an old computer that I keep running only for P95 (in fact, my wife keeps asking me if it's worth the electricity!). What I want to know is if v25.7 will slow it down, and whether I should just leave the P95 software as is.

[db597]

Originally Posted by richs

in fact, my wife keeps asking me if it's worth the electricity!

Unfortunately, I think your wife might be right... I even have some older P4s sitting around that I'm not sure are worth the running cost.

[Uncwilly]

Set them up with v25.7 and set them to do LMH, (provided they are hooked to the net). :)
Actually, they electical cost for running a P3 (for a year) might be the same as buying a new machine.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

Actually, they electical cost for running a P3 (for a year) might be the same as buying a new machine.

For which you also have to pay the electricity...

I'm still running a PPro. It's a fan heater which does computation in its spare time.

Second or third frost of the autumn here in Cambridge. The computers are keeping my study reasonably warm but I'm going to have to power up some more, or turn on the (gas-fired) central heating, before much longer.


Paul

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by xilman

Second or third frost of the autumn here in Cambridge. The computers are keeping my study reasonably warm but I'm going to have to power up some more, or turn on the (gas-fired) central heating, before much longer.

[Interviewer]''You first visited Ceylon in 1954. What prompted you to live here?''
[Sir Arthur C. Clarke]: ...''My quick answer is thirty English winters."

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

[Interviewer]''You first visited Ceylon in 1954. What prompted you to live here?''
[Sir Arthur C. Clarke]: ...''My quick answer is thirty English winters."

English winters are, usually, miserable rather than harsh these days. We had only a few in the entire 20th century, one of which (1963) I can remember. Since then we've had a few cold snaps but nothing on the scale of 1963 or 1948.

Paul

[davieddy]

1947 I think you mean.
At my boarding school (Wymondham College) we slept in
a Nissen hut throughout the winter of 1963!

David

[richs]

Well, I know there weren't many P-III's contributing to the project before the server migration, but if anyone upgrades to v25.7 on a P-III, would they please let us know how it affects performance? Perhaps this is a question that George will address.... I'm trying to figure out whether to stay put with the v23 version that is faster or to upgrade.

[mdettweiler]

Originally Posted by richs

Well, I know there weren't many P-III's contributing to the project before the server migration, but if anyone upgrades to v25.7 on a P-III, would they please let us know how it affects performance? Perhaps this is a question that George will address.... I'm trying to figure out whether to stay put with the v23 version that is faster or to upgrade.

Why don't you try plopping a copy of v25.7 into a separate folder and selecting "just stress testing" when you start it up, then running a benchmark on both v23 and v25.7? Then, if the v25.7 benchmark is better than that for v23, go ahead and upgrade the v23 installation to v25.7.

Also, I just had a thought: possibly v23 is faster than v24.14 due to something with a misdetected SSE2 setting of some sort? Maybe there's some sort of manual override in prime.ini that would help? (Presumably, if that turns out to be a fix for v24.14, it should work for v25.7, too.)