Xeon as a worthwhile platform?

[Joe R]

Hi, folks - I'm new to the list, but I haven't seen this question so I thought
I'd ask.  I am in the middle of a project using GMP and my hardware is
pitifully slow.  I've run through the GMP speed charts and I don't see any info
regarding Xeons as compared to other CPUs.  Since Itaniums are darned expensive
and Alphas are going out of style (please correct me if I'm wrong - it seems
like fewer and fewer Alpha-based platforms are being created), I'd probably
consider Pentium/Xeon hardware next.  Any comments?  Note that I'll be using
the MPFR code a lot, so anything specifically regarding that code is especially
interesting.

I'm also planning on using FreeBSD 4.8 on whatever hardware I do buy.  I've
been running well on this release so far and I see no reason to change now. 
However, any input on this is welcome, too.

Thanks for your help - hope this isn't too broad a question  ;)


-Joe



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