hurleybird
Rear Admiral
Ok, you win.
Eh, it's not in the least bit a revolutionary concept. People are quite capable of understanding the idea that, instead of having one really fast processor, you've got two slightly slower ones which, combined, do a better job.Yeah, bad choice of words on my part. What I meant to say was that when you introduce IPC to people they react like it's some completely new concept, and their entire perception of what makes a fast computer gets turned on it's head. I didn't mean to say that most people won't believe you (although in my experience, there are people like that), but at the moment I couldn't come up with the right words to express exactly what I meant.
Not in the least bit off topic - it's safe to assume that people don't forget the specs of their computer the day after the purchase. Somebody who has bought a dual-core processor is quite likely to still remember half a year later that his 2GHz processor is faster than an ordinary 3GHz processor.You're going off topic, as we are not talking about someone who is in the process of buying a computer, we are talking about someone who is reading the required specs of a game and seeing if his computer can run that game, but I'll indulge you anyway
Wait... let me just be sure I understand you . You're saying that salespeople refer to dual-core processors using ratings like 4200 or 6700. Now, if you ask a salesman what those numbers mean, he'll usually explain that it's the actual speed, pretty much equivalent to Hz. So, a person who goes by what the salesperson told him, will understand his 2.2GHz dual-core AMD is 4200+ Hz, and therefore, that it's a 4.2 GHz processor. Yet, you're not sure if this same person will understand that his 2.2GHz dual-core AMD is capable of running a game that requires a 3.6GHz processor?Your example is somewhat valid, and I'm sure it has happened to some consumers, but the introduction of the model numbers really muddles things up. You don't hear a salesman calling a processor a "2.2GHz Athlon 64 X2"; he calls it the AthlonX2 4200+ or in the case of the C2D he calls it the E6700 (and why wouldn't he? the bigger number sounds better and it saves himself the hassle of explaining IPC in the first place!)
Eh, it's not in the least bit a revolutionary concept. People are quite capable of understanding the idea that, instead of having one really fast processor, you've got two slightly slower ones which, combined, do a better job.
Wait... let me just be sure I understand you . You're saying that salespeople refer to dual-core processors using ratings like 4200 or 6700. Now, if you ask a salesman what those numbers mean, he'll usually explain that it's the actual speed, pretty much equivalent to Hz. So, a person who goes by what the salesperson told him, will understand his 2.2GHz dual-core AMD is 4200+ Hz, and therefore, that it's a 4.2 GHz processor. Yet, you're not sure if this same person will understand that his 2.2GHz dual-core AMD is capable of running a game that requires a 3.6GHz processor?
This is why I hate the internet.