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It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

blog.howardjohn.info

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Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#231

Post by jayd16 »

userbinator wrote: post #46

I wish developers, and I'm saying this as one myself, were forced to work on a much slower machine, to flush out those who can't write efficient code. Software bloat has already gotten worse by at least an order of magnitude in the past decade.

The beatings will continue until the code improves.

I get the sentiment but taken literally it's counter productive. If the business cares about perf, put it in the sprint planning. But they don't. You'll just be writing more features with more personal pain.

For what its worth, console gamedev has solved this. You test your game on the weakest console you're targeting. This usually shakes out as a stable perf floor for PC.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#232

Post by alt227 »

xmodem wrote: post #161
loeg wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe anyone is losing >1% productivity from these measures (at FANG employers).

When Apple switched to their own silicon, I was maintaining the build systems at a scaleup. After I saw the announcement, I immediately knew I needed to try out our workflows on the new architecture. There was just no way that we wouldn't have x86_64 as an implicit dependency all throughout our stack. I raised the issue with my manager and the corporate IT team. They acknowledged the concern but claimed they had enou…

> I raised the issue with my manager and the corporate IT team.

> And of course myself and my team took the blame for not preparing ahead of time.

If your initial request was not logged and then able to be retrieved by yourself in defence, then I would say something is very wrong at your company.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#233

Post by alt227 »

tgma wrote: post #23
avidiax wrote: post #10

Employers, even the rich FANG types, are quite penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to developer hardware. Limiting the number and size of monitors. Putting speedbumps (like assessments or doctor's notes) on ergo accessories. Requiring special approval for powerful hardware. Requiring special approval for travel, and setting hotel and airfare caps that haven't been adjusted for inflation. To be fair, I know ple…

FANG is not monolithic. Amazon is famously cheap. So is Apple in my opinion based on what I have heard (you get random refurbished hardware that is available not some standardized thing, sometimes with 8GB RAM sometimes something nicer) Apple is also famously cheap on their compensation. Back in the day they proudly said shit to the effect of "we deliberately don't pay you top of the market because you have to love A…

> sometimes with 8GB RAM

Apple have long thought that 8Gb ram is good enough for anything, and will continue to for some time now.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#234

Post by szatkus »

kaspar030 wrote: post #12

> Top end CPUs are about 3x faster than the comparable top end models 3 years ago I wish that were true, but the current Ryzen 9950 is maybe 50% faster than the two generations older 5950, at compilation workloads.

The author used kernel compilation as a benchmark. Which is weird, because for most projects a build process isn't as scalable as that (especially in the node.js ecosystem), even less after a full build.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#235

Post by bigtechennui »

alt227 wrote: post #189
hellisothers wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But at the FAANGy companies I’ve worked at this issue persists. Mobile engineers working on 3yo computers and seeing new hires compile 2x (or more) faster with their newer machines.

If they care that much about compile time, they would work on a desktop instead of a laptop.

Then the company would issue a desktop and a laptop, since they want engineers to be able to use computers in places other than their desk.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#236

Post by geor9e »

avidiax wrote: post #10

Employers, even the rich FANG types, are quite penny-wise and pound-foolish when it comes to developer hardware. Limiting the number and size of monitors. Putting speedbumps (like assessments or doctor's notes) on ergo accessories. Requiring special approval for powerful hardware. Requiring special approval for travel, and setting hotel and airfare caps that haven't been adjusted for inflation. To be fair, I know ple…

I know a FAANG company whose IT department, for the last few years, has been "out of stock" for SSD drives over 250GB . They claim its a global market issue (it's not). There's constant complaining in the chats for folks who compile locally. The engineers make $300k+ so they just buy a second SSD from Amazon on their credit cards and self-install them without mentioning it to the IT dept. I've never heard a rational explanation for the "shortage" other than chronic incompetence from the team supplying engineers with laptops/desktops. Meanwhile, spinning up a 100TB cloud VM has no friction whatsoever there. It's a cushy place to work tho, so folks just accept the comically dumb aspects everyone knows about.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#238

Post by alt227 »

gnfargbl wrote: post #49

OK, I'm convinced. Can someone tell me what to buy, specifically? Needs to run Ubuntu, support 2 x 4K monitors (3 would be nice), have at least 64GB RAM and fit on my desk. Don't particularly care how good the GPU is / is not. Here's my starting point: gmktec.com/products/amd-ryzen™-ai-max-395-evo-x2-ai-mini-pc. Anything better?

If you want 3x 4k monitors, you need to care how good the GPU is.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#239

Post by incone123 »

ffsm8 wrote: post #178
dcrazy wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stability and reliability.

Stability is a big one, but the feel of the desk itself is also a price point. You're gonna be paying a lot depending on the type of tabletop you get. ($100-1k+ just for the top)

Mine is very stable. Top is just some kind of board. It took a bit of damage from my cat's claws but that's not a risk most corporate offices have.

Re: It is worth it to buy the fast CPU

#240

Post by arp242 »

JonChesterfield wrote: post #191
arp242 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Threadripper is complete overkill for most developers and hella expensive especially at the top end. May also not even be that much faster for many work-loads. The 9950X3D is the "normal top-end" CPU to buy for most people.

Whether ~$10k is infeasibly expensive or a bargain depends strongly on what workloads you're running. Single threaded stuff? Sure, bad idea. Massively parallel set suites backed by way too much C++, where building it all has wound up on the dev critical path? The big machine is much cheaper than rearchitecting the build structure and porting to a non-daft language. I'm not very enamoured with distcc style build farms…

Yes of course it depends, which is why I used "most developers" and not "all developers". What is certainly it not is a good default option for most people, like you suggested.
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