title: MySQL: How many UPDATES per second can an average box support?
body: <p>We've got a constant stream of simple updates to a single MySQL table (storing user activity information). Let's say we group these into batch updates each second.</p>
  
  <p>I want a ballpark idea of when mysql on a typical 4-core 8GB box will start having an issue keeping up with the updates coming in each second. E.g. how many rows of updates can I make @ 1 per second?</p>
  
  <p>This is a thought exercise to decide if I should get going with MySQL in the early days of our applications release (simplify development), or if MySQL's likely to bomb so soon as to make it not worth even venturing down that path.</p>