On 25 Sep 99, at 1:23, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> As with all distributed efforts, we all contribute what we can. It's not
> a contest, except perhaps amongst us programmers, in terms of pushing each
> other to continually improve our codes.
There are other ways of contributing as well as simply contributing
CPU cycles - valuable though that contribution is!
> >Sorry, I am bitter and can't afford a 550 Pentium.....
>
> Hopefully soon - here prices have dropped below 1000 $US for 500MHz systems-
> you can get a 300-400MHz PII virtually for free if you're willing to pay
> $20/month for 36 months of unlimited Internet access. You should try buying
> online, e.g. at www.valueamerica.com or some such store.
UK "shop window" retail prices _look_ awful - but they insist on
selling you a huge monitor, "high-end" multimedia hardware (possibly
including an awful scanner and a worse digital camera), a 56K modem
(built-in WinModem, useless unless you're running Windoze) and a huge
raft of "free" software (mostly obsolete and/or rubbish they can't
offload any other way, except as landfill) as well as the bits you
actually need. You can buy basic systems at quite reasonable prices
here, if you look in the right place e.g. £440 (ex VAT) for a
complete PII-400 system. PIII-500 systems are a couple of hundred
pounds more expensive, but that's Intel pricing policy. In terms of
"bangs per buck", the systems with the fastest processors are
relatively poor value for money (especially as the performance of
"real" programs is not linearly related to the CPU clock speed!)
There is an _enormous_ improvement in speed between a Cyrix 333 and a
PII-400, _much_ less between a PII-400 and a PIII-600 (or whatever
the fastest chip Intel do at the moment is - I find it hard even to
keep track of where the "bleeding edge" is, so fast is the turnover
of products!)
Bear in mind the transport costs, the complications with customs duty
& the possible risks involved in dealing in foreign exchange (you
don't know the exchange rate until the credit card company processes
the transaction - & they can, and do, manipulate this to your
disadvantage) I'm not sure that there's any real benefit in dealing
direct with US suppliers for single unit purchases. Bulk purchasing
may be an entirely different matter.
Here in the UK, component prices seem to be reasonably competitive,
especially when purchased through the many outlets which include free
delivery. This is a major saving on a small order.
> >How do I know that the exponent I am testing has not already run to
> >conclusion.?
If someone else has run your exponent to completion (unlikely) you
will find out when you check in your completion dates. The PrimeNet
server will mutter at you.
Regards
Brian Beesley
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