That's because nobody has optimized their software for the AMD64 architecture. The reason why the first P4s blew compared to the P3s was their new architecture; now that applications have been recompiled to utilize the processor more fully, the P4 stomps everyone in quite a few benchmarks.
You should be happy that the new AMD64 chips are running neck-and-neck with the P4s. What that means is that a new chip with 2/3 the clock speed of a P4 with a radically different architecture compared to the P4 running in its weakest 32-bit mode is performing JUST AS WELL as the P4, for which all of the benchmarks, games and applications have all been optimized for.
I think behind closed doors AMD is saying "Intel! All your benchies are belong to us!"
I don't think it will happen anytime soon. The presence of Steve and the inertia built up at Apple to keep going in its own direction would prevent any porting effort to x86, x86-64 or IA64 from taking place easily. Mac OS X would be easiest due to its Unix origins, but other Apple tools might be more difficult (I'm discounting any old Unix/GNU software that has been massaged by Apple; that software might be very easy to port).
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That's because nobody has optimized their software for the AMD64 architecture. The reason why the first P4s blew compared to the P3s was their new architecture; now that applications have been recompiled to utilize the processor more fully, the P4 stomps everyone in quite a few benchmarks.
You should be happy that the new AMD64 chips are running neck-and-neck with the P4s. What that means is that a new chip with 2/3 the clock speed of a P4 with a radically different architecture compared to the P4 running in its weakest 32-bit mode is performing JUST AS WELL as the P4, for which all of the benchmarks, games and applications have all been optimized for.
I think behind closed doors AMD is saying "Intel! All your benchies are belong to us!"
I don't think it will happen anytime soon. The presence of Steve and the inertia built up at Apple to keep going in its own direction would prevent any porting effort to x86, x86-64 or IA64 from taking place easily. Mac OS X would be easiest due to its Unix origins, but other Apple tools might be more difficult (I'm discounting any old Unix/GNU software that has been massaged by Apple; that software might be very easy to port).