Do certain WUs fold better on a particular processor?

[BSMaier]

The reason i ask is because people are always debating on amd VS intel. If some proteins fold better on a particular processor then wouldnt it be more benificial (cost to average output) to have a mix of both amd and intel boxes? Just a thought....maybe i should stop thinking.

 

[Killer[MoB]]

The most important point from all the debate can be summed up like this: You do not want to fold a tinker work unit on a P4. The tinker core is not optimized for anything.....it relies on pure CPU floating point power. As a result a P4 folds a tinker at the same speed as a AMD (Duron, TBird or XP) would a ½ the clock speed. That is to say, a 1000 MHz AMD = a 2000 MHz P4 when folding a tinker core unit.

 

[btomlins]

I have noticed my intel machines eat it on a tinker...Athlon XPs I have crunch right through them...I do have a slotA 750Mhz Athlon...that thing eats it on tinkers, but then again its only 750mhz *sigh*

 

[Mattman]

I think this comes down to a question of $. If you can get three AthlonXP systems going for the same cash as two P4's (made up scenario, but pretty close to reality), then you're always going to be better off.