--- begin forwarded text X-Sender: fm@mail.espace.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 10:52:46 +0100 To: usual@espace.net From: Fearghas McKay <fm@espace.net> Subject: How Fast Is your System? Sender: <usual@espace.net> Precedence: Bulk List-Software: LetterRip 2.0.1 by Fog City Software, Inc. List-Subscribe: <mailto:requests@espace.net?subject=subscribe%20usual> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:requests@espace.net?subject=unsubscribe%20usual> Status: U --- begin forwarded text How Fast Is your System? Project RC5 is an attempt to beat the RSA Secret-Key Challenge by using desktop computers to plug away at possible solutions in their spare processor time. One nifty side effect of all these boxes attempting the same process is an accurate comparison of true processor speeds. The compiled statistics show clearly what is often overlooked: not all megahertzes are created equal. A 180-MHz Pentium Pro ranges from 413 kk/s (thousand keys per second) running Windows 95 to 461 kk/s under Linux. In comparison, 180-MHz Macs range from 434 kk/s (a Motorola machine with a 603e chip running MacOS 7.6.1) to 530 kk/s (a Motorola 604e with MacOS 8). That's a significant difference. The fastest single-processor computer is a Power Mac 9600/350, with a 350-Mhz PowerPC 604e chip, that slices through 1012 kk/s. Check these stats out and compare not only platforms, but operating systems, too. [Netsurfer=92s Digest] RC5: <http://www.distributed.net/rc5/>=20 RSA: <http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/97challenge/>=20 Stats: <http://www.alde.com/speed.html> --- end forwarded text --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com), Philodox e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/ Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>