Are processors pushing up against the limits of physics?

Discussion in 'hardware' started by lotuseclat79, Aug 14, 2014.

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  1. lotuseclat79

    lotuseclat79 Registered Member

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  2. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Haven´t read the article, but I think that processors are overrated. Even with the Intel Core i7 3.1 MHZ, my browser still has difficulty loading sites like Facebook and Gmail in a smooth way. So I think it´s software that needs to be improved. :)

    EDIT: I meant Intel Core i7 3.1 GHZ
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2014
  3. Veeshush

    Veeshush Registered Member

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    There's no rush for the typical consumer because any system built from 2005 onward is powerful enough for those who only do email, word processors, news sites, Facebook and Youtube. But same also could be said of the enthusiast system builder and gamer types - if you have the money then you can build a system today that'll do everything you want it to do.

    I don't think the general public is feeling any restraints from Moore's law slowing down. The industrial, scientific research types are the ones feeling it. But they always have been feeling the restraints anyway.
     
  4. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    I'm surprised you can run an browser capable of Facebook and Gmail on top of an OS with only 3.1 MHz. Anyhow, server-side software improvement would be more efficient in those cases of bloat IMO.
     
  5. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    @ J_L

    Yes good point, my bad. :D

    But what do you mean with "server-side software improvement"? I was thinking of the browser-engine that needs to be improved in order to take full advantage of the processor. The funny thing is that during browsing, the processor never seems to be used more than 25%, but still some sites (like Facebook) feel sluggish. Another option would be to use way less scripting on websites, but most web-developers seem to be complete idiots.
     
  6. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    You just described one form of what I meant by "server-side software improvement" in your last sentence.
     
  7. Veeshush

    Veeshush Registered Member

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    http://www.webkit.org/perf/sunspider/sunspider.html is a good test too. I just did a run with Firefox 31, and I get around 230.ms with my 6 core 1100t. It only stresses one single core out of six though (so I take it there's no multicore).

    http://peacekeeper.futuremark.com/ is another good bench.

    I don't know what browser you're using though. With Firefox you can check if you're using any GPU acceleration under about:support. Having a modern graphics card helps with the webGL and video playback a lot.
     
  8. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Actually that was another major surprise to me, I noticed that video playback was also a bit sluggish, especially when you move the mouse around. Very weird since processor usage was only 30%. I could only solve the problem by setting Flash Player into "low quality" mode. Surely a Intel Core i7 processor combined with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 GPU must be able to do better? :)

    http://postimg.org/image/b97yugut5/
     
  9. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    By default, Nvidia Optimus makes your browser use integrated graphics, but on a modern i7 that shouldn't be an issue. Which website is that? Do you have such an issue on YouTube? Mine's smooth even on 4K.
     
  10. Veeshush

    Veeshush Registered Member

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    Flash Player is always a hassle, if it's not crashing. ;) I have issues with multiple flash based things opened at once, but that's just flash being flash. But under Flash settings, you have Hardware Acceleration enabled, right?

    Does your i7 have an onboard gpu built into it? I wonder if it's fighting your graphic card for video acceleration (or its drivers, or settings). Load up GPU-Z and watch to see if your gpu is kicking in during video playback. Might be hard to tell though.

    Also worth monitoring your CPU speed, if you have any downclocking going on. But you shouldn't be having any issues either way.

    Could always try cleaning the nvidia drivers out and reinstalling 'em. https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/550192/geforce-drivers/display-driver-uninstaller-v5-0/

    I agree though, you shouldn't be having any issues with your specs. You have any security programs running that might be doing it? For example, my Privacy Badger extension under Firefox was giving me major Twitch playback issues.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2014
  11. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    @ J_L

    It´s this site, a Dutch Netflix competitor. Netflix is crap over here in Holland by the way. On YouTube it´s a bit better. But later this year I will buy a machine with a way better GPU, so I will give you guys an update. :)

    https://www.nlziet.nl/

    EDIT: I just have to say this, but almost all of Yahoo´s websites run sluggish (on old and new machines), their website developer-team is a complete joke, shame on the CEO, Marissa Mayer. :D

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marissa_Mayer
     
  12. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    I have returned the machine because of other problems, but I haven thought of that. I do believe the CPU was not operating at its highest clock speed. It might also have to do something with bad Nvidia drivers I think. :)
     
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