Hi,

I perform alot of SPICE simulations and recently had to get a Quad core 2.66 GHz with lots of RAM.

The dual HT Zeon 3 GHz processor (2 separate CPUs) system was fast, but when simulations ran 10 hours, I needed more horsepower and RAM.

The quad core with more RAM ran 40% faster (read more simulations per day) and occupied the processors around 60%. If I run more than one concurrent simulation, I can get it up to around 85%. I also run this system separately, bare bones software, configuration, and it is not connected to the network to minimize housekeeping. My other system has everything running of course including full software, connectivity, simulations at night and background.

I have seen good luck with the quad, but, I've only had it for a month. There may also be a big kick from the extra RAM Core to run in too. It was a jump from 2 GB to 4 GB, but Windows tops out too.

There may also be a boost due to a larger cache size and possibly the front-side bus.

Ross