CPUs
Currently, available processors are bundling at least two and possibly as many as eight cores into each CPU, making the core count the figure of merit for most database applications. There are two basic decisions you need to make while deciding which CPU solution would best match your database application:
- Which processor family? Nowadays, this normally boils down to choosing among the various 64 bit product lines from Intel or AMD, although there are some other less popular choices still floating around (Itanium, SPARC, and so on).
- Do you get more cores or faster cores?
These choices are sometimes more tied together than you might think. Currently, Intel has a lead in delivering individual processor cores that are the fastest around, often due to faster transfers between the processor and system RAM. But the processors and related parts are more expensive too. AMD still is competitive at providing more cores per dollar, and their server class designs normally do a good job...
