No more mysteries: Apple's G5 versus x86, Mac OS X versus Linux
by Johan De Gelas on June 3, 2005 7:48 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
Benchmark configuration
We used the MySQL version (4.0.18) that came with the SUSE SLES9 CD's and Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.1, which was certified to work on our OS.Software: Intel, AMD
SUSE SLES 9 (SUSE Entreprise Edition) , Linux kernel 2.6.5, 64 bit.
Workstation tests: Windows XP SP2
Software: Apple PowerMac G5
OS X 10.4.1 Tiger, 64 bit (partially).
Software: common
MySQL 4.0.18, 32 and 64 bit, MyISAM engine
Gcc 3.3.3
Hardware
Here is the list of the different configurations:Apple PowerMac Dual 2.7 GHz, Dual 2.5 GHz
4 GB (8x512 MB) Corsair XMS3200 running at CAS 3-3-3
Intel® Server Board SE7520AF2
4 GB (4x1024 MB) Micron Registered DDR-II PC2-3200R, 400 MHz CAS 3, ECC enabled
NIC: Dual Intel® PRO/1000 Server NIC (Intel® 82546GB controller)
Dual Xeon DP Galatin 3.06 GHz 1 MB L3-cache, 533 MHz FSB
Intel SE7505VB2 board - Dual DDR266
2 GB (4x512 MB) Crucial PC2100R - 250033R, 266 MHz CAS 2.5 (2.5-3-3-6)
NIC: 1 Gb Intel RC82540EM - Intel E1000 driver.
Opteron Server: Dual Opteron 250 (2.4 GHz)
Iwill DK8ES Bios version 1.20
4 GB: 4x1GB MB Reg. Transcend (Hynix 503A) DDR400 - (3-3-3-6)
NIC: Broadcom BCM5721 (PCI-E)
MSI K8T Master1-FAR
4x512 MB infineon PC2700 Registered, ECC enabled
NIC: Broadcom 5705
Shared Components
1 Seagate Cheetah 36 GB - 15000 rpm - 320 MB/s
Maxtor 120 GB DiamondMax Plus 9 (7200 rpm, ATA-100/133, 8 MB cache)
Words of thanks
A lot of people gave us assistance with this project, and we like to thank them of course:Frank Balzer, IBM DB2/SUSE Linux Expert
Jasmin Ul-Haque, Novell Corporate Communications
Matty Bakkeren, Intel Netherlands
Trevor E. Lawless, Intel US
Larry.D . Gray, Intel US
Damon Muzny, AMD US
My team and I at the Technical University in the lab. Notice the slick Power Mac system behind me.
Bert Van Petegem, DB2 Expert
Ruben Demuynck, Vtune and OS X expert
Yves Van Steen, developer Dbconn
David Van Dromme, Iwill Benelux Helpdesk (http://www.iwill-benelux.com)
I also would like to thank Lode De Geyter, manager of the PIH, for letting us use the infrastructure of the TUK ( www.pih.be) to test the database servers.
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michael2k - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
Well, it shouts to stay away from the XServe unless you happen to have vectorizable code that you have the resources to properly vectorize!erwos - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
Excellent comparison of the platforms, although I actually wish they would have spent more time analyzing the graphs.Like the others, I would have liked to see a G5 / Linux benchmark (now that FC4 has a PPC version, you could run a fairly reasonable one), but I do admit it's not a very popular option compared to x86. My curiosity is whether MacOS X is the problem, or whether it's some sort of issue with the CPU itself. Seems unlikely the G5 would have such a fundamental flaw, but it does shout to stay the hell away from the Xserve until these issues are resolved.
-Erwos
Thresher - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
As the owner of intel, AMD, and Mac based computers, I have to say this is one of the best and most thorough comparisons I've seen.You did an excellent job of isolating CPU and OS performance.
That being said, if performance were the only indicator, there is no doubt in my mind that AMD would be ruling the roost. However, personal preferences come into play to a great deal. Businesses like the reputation behind intel. I prefer the usability of Mac OS X. People have strong feelings about Microsoft that may color their decisions.
When it comes down to it, performance is important, but not the only reason people buy what they buy. I would say more often than not, the decision is made with only a modicum of logic.
Cruise51 - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
I'd be interested in seeing how it performs on yellowdog aswell.IntelUser2000 - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
People, in case some of you misunderstand, the 10.8GB/sec Full Duplex bus means that its two 32-bit 1350MHz bus, rather than one 64-bit bus in the PCs. Its not, 10.8GB/sec x 2 =21.6GB/sec bus, its 10.8GB/sec bus(or more correctly stated 5.4GB/sec x 2). Plus, it says in Apple site that it has TWO(yes two!!!) of the 10.8GB/sec buses, per CPU.Summary: Per CPU=10.8GB/sec
Per Dual Processor System=21.6GB/sec
Johan, about the AMD TDP number, they never state that its max power, they say its maximum power achievable under most circumstances, its not absolute max power.
JohanAnandtech - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
Porkster: It is a little geekisch Unix joke. Where is your geekish you man spirit?Wessonality: Our next project if we can keep the G5 long enough in the labs.
Ailleur2: indeed, I agree. The G5 is a potent CPU with a lot of potential. Just give it a bigger L2 and a better memory subsystem. This is an architecture that could last very long by applying a few tweaks, like the P6.
Methodical: All of the benchmarks are trustworthy, they should be looked upon as a whole to get a good picture, not just pick one. About After affects, I indicate that the G5 does very well here (seen other reports on the web), I just didn't have the software in the lab.
I also warned that this was not about "should I buy an Apple or not?". It is just "if performance is what counts for me, where should I position the G5/Mac os X combiantion compared to x86/Linux/Windows ?".
StuckMojo - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
hmph. you say it yourself in the last paragraph...how come you didn't try it?
StuckMojo - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
yes, it seems you've left out a very good method of testing if OSX is the issue: run a powerPC linux distro with the mysql and apache benchmarks and see what happens!i'd be _really_ interested in the results. see if you can update the article with them.
porkster - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
"Root Me" in Australian slang is the same as "Fxxk Me" in common language. Some people my find a picture in this review offensive.wessonality - Friday, June 3, 2005 - link
What about installing Yellow Dog Linux on the XServe?