Eight-core Macs and performance

On the one hand:

New eight-core Mac Pro performance a mixed bag

On the other hand:

"12:23pm - Easy to spread multiple threads across as many processor cores as you want -- demo [of Compressor] shows octo-core encoding jump to 100% across all eight cores. Shows live bookmarks in video, publishing to iTunes. All done!"

- Apple Keynote Live from NAB 2007

Even though SMP has been around for years, it hasn't really been mainstream until now. Around 1997 or 98, I bought an SMP Pentium II system. A few years later when I built a Pentium 4-based computer, I couldn't even find a consumer-grade SMP motherboard. I think that as computer prices continued to fall, the cost of SMP, relative to the other components of the computer, pushed it out of what the consumer market would pay. But now multi-cores have changed the economics again, and the writing is on the wall - multi-processing is going to be a fact of life for all but the most modest entry level computers for the foreseeable future.

Eventually, general purpose software will catch up and take full advantage of the multi-core processors. Until then, buy the tool you need and not more. If your daily software doesn't use eight cores, no one is forcing you to buy eight cores. If you buy a nail gun when all you really needed was a box of thumbtacks, maybe you're compensating for something.

What kind of breakdown would your computer have?

When a Mac, or a Linux computer, or a Sun, is broken, there is still a logic to the brokeness. I have tools available to me for inspecting the computer, and I can pursue the symptoms of the problem, and the symptoms lead on a rational path to the cause. In the cases where I can't fix the problem, I at least feel confident that I have exhausted all my options and the machine is truly well boned.

Trying to troubleshoot a Windows computer is like trying to reason with someone who's had a psychotic break:

Me: Hey what's the problem?
Windows XP: I don't have a problem.
Me: Well you're not remembering my preferences. Really, what's the problem?
Windows XP: BLAH BLAH boogity boogity boo BLEE BLAH BLARRRGH!
Me: Can you be more specific?
Windows XP: I don't have a problem.

Here's a good time I had trying to reinstall Norton Systemworks:

Norton: I'm installing... gosh, I can't do it.
Me: Why not?
Norton: I'm not going to tell you. Would you like to rollback or retry?
Me: What's the point of retrying if I don't get a chance to fix the problem?
Norton: Well, those are your choices.
Me: Fine, retry.
Norton: Nope, still can't do it.
Me: Okay, I give up. Roll back the install attempt.
Norton: Heave... ho... nope, I can't do that either.

(Remember when "Norton" meant "unquestionable quality"? Not anymore.)