Parallelization question about 4 quad core systems vs eight dual core systems

[postaquestion]

Is it possible that each and every application can be parallelizedto utilize the power of all the cores available in the socket?

Does a single application running on four CPU - quad core (4 cpu X 4 cores) and Eight CPU - Dual cores (8 X 2) servers give the same performance? If not, which is better if the same application is fully parallelized based on the multi-processor i.e SMP aytem (not on multicore)?

Your answermay help me in choosing the best option for my company.

[TimP]

There certainly is no blanket answer for this question. It would depend on specific applications and computer models under consideration. Among the comparisons we are called upon to make, 2 nodes of Harpertown 1600FSB dual socket quad core will not give the performance of 4 nodes Wolfdale dual socket dual core, but the more competitively priced examples of that Harpertown will give better performance per dollar and per watt on a majority of applications. It is very possible that a similar comparison would hold between 4 socket quad core and 8 socket dual core, if you have an application for which both are suited (more performance on the 8 socket machine, at a bigger increase in cost). Applications which make even moderate demands on memory bandwidth aren't likely to give competitive performance per dollar or watt on current 4 or 8 socket servers, if they are suitable for running on a cluster of multiple single or dual socket servers. You may have noticed that the Intel EP "efficient performance" models are dual socket. A year from now, 4 and 8 socket models should show a very big increase in performance, even more than 1 and 2 socket models. 8 socket models will still be somewhat specialized, with differing configurations for various purposes, and the 4 and 8 socket machines will continue to support lower bus and CPU clock frequencies than 2 sockets.