Duron vs Thunderbird

Under the current release version of the SETI client, 2.04 we can see about 70 minutes time difference between the CPUs running 111mhz difference in core speed. However running under the newer re-coded client not only do we see a dramatic decrease in unit work time, but also the gap between the CPUs has closed to approximately 15 min. This example can clearly illustrate a point I have been trying to make clearer for some folks about different CPUs and software coding. Ever since the release of the Athlon there has been this constant battle in cyberspace about which CPU is faster at a given clock speed, the Pentium III or an Athlon. To fight this battle people have been throwing around different benchmarks and hardware web site URLs to "prove" their point. Without much thought to one direction, the software used to run the hardware of these two CPUs. Ever since the 600mhz PIII and Athlons have been released, almost without exception an Intel based system would outperform an Athlon based system when it came to running the SETI@home client and the higher up you scaled CPU speed with the Athlon, the less time you REALLY gained doing a work uni