I have developed a FileMaker solution that is going to do a high degree of data manipulation. This FileMaker solution is going to be used as a companion tool with other databases (not necessarily FileMaker databases). My solution will import data from the databases into one table and then move the data to other tables to perform the appropriate calculations.

There is a core particular script that will run on every record in the database. This core script will perform somewhere between 100 and 150 calculations on every record. It is likely that I will be processing batches of records anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 records in size.

I am looking at purchasing a new machine for the purpose of using this database tool. However, the new computer I am planning on purchasing has to be a laptop so that I can take it from company to company for consulting purposes (i.e., no server). I am planning on purchasing a PC (as opposed to a Mac) with 2 GB of RAM. My question is in regards to how FileMaker handles on-die caches. If I purchase one of the Intel Core 2 Duo processors (the mobile variant “Morem,” not yet available) is it worth the extra money to get a 4MB L2 cache (as opposed to a 2MB L2 cache)? Would FileMaker take advantage of that large L2 cache (very few programs take advantage of the full cache), or is it a waste to spend extra money on a large L2 cache from a FileMaker standpoint?

Any advice on this matter, and/or any suggestions on other performance hardware would be greatly appreciated.

-jimster

Processor cache is not as important as HDD cache. And since you're going for a laptop you're handicapping yourself right there. A good desktop HDD with say an 8MB HDD cache and running at the standard 7200 RPMs will run circles around a laptop HDD running at 4200 RPMs.

Would FileMaker take advantage of that large L2 cache? You'll probably need to contact FileMaker directly, for details like that

if you're doing 150 calcs per record, but only writing the result to one field, HDD speed may not matter. It depends on your application.

keep in mind that FileMaker software was not designed to "crunch" numbers. Period. If you really need a lot of calcs, and are already using other databases, they might actually be faster. A lot faster. Try it