Is a quadcore mac helpful when compiling?
In another thread one of the forum members said that a quad core computer is good with Xojo, because when it compiles a project it uses multiple cores.
I’m upgrading my mac.
Im trying to work out what type of machine I need to upgrade to, to get the best performance in the IDE and compiling large web app projects.
Is it worth the expense to go to quad core?
If you compile for 64 bit, the answer is yes. As far as I know, in 32 bit, only one one core is used.
Thanks , since we’re heading to a 64bit future, I guess its yes for future proofing
it is fundamental to get an ssd drive (before the quad core…)
there are still many desktop macs with mechanical hard drives around…
overall speed gain :
mechanical -> x3 -> fusion drive -> x3 -> ssd
Standard 2.5" @ 7200 rpm is fastest than anythig but SSD.
Yes, it is worth getting the Quad core for the current Xojo 64-bit app building alone.
Remember that the IDE itself will soon be 64-bit and there will be 64-bit debugging maybe these will get a multi-core lift as well.
I hope so David.
Chances are eventually the Mac App Store will require 64 bit, now that the system has been 64 bit for several years.
another thing to consider is the NON-Xojo apps on your computer… many of them may (or may not) use multiple cores to run
You will profit from multiple cores depending on the size of your project and the optimization level of it. While your code is compiled linearly on one thread first, the optimization and linking phase tends to max out all cores.
When I compile debug builds, I feel no difference in speed while I work on my MacBook or on my iMac. The MacBooks SSD compensates the slower CPU, at least on a felt level.
This is very different when I build 64Bit apps. Especially with aggressive optimization, the iMac is a lot faster then, the main difference being the linking stage again.
So yes, I would say its advisable to have a more powerful CPU.