Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 26th Aug 2010 23:24 UTC
At the Hot Chips 2010 conference, IBM announced their upcoming z196 CPU, which is really, really fast. How fast? Fastest chip in the world fast. Intended for Z-series mainframe computers, the Z196 has a clock speed of 5.2GHz. Measuring just 512 square millimeters, the Z196 is fabricated on 45nm PD SOI technology, and on its surface contains almost one and a half billion transistors. My... Processor is bigger than yours.
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RE[3]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?
by Neolander on Fri 27th Aug 2010 16:57
in reply to "RE[2]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?"
Member since:2010-03-08
A first issue related to multicore is that if the input of task N in an algorithm depends on the output of task N-1, you're screwed. This prevents many nice optimizations from being applied.
A purely mathematical example : prime factorization of integers from 1 to 10000.
First algorithm that comes to mind is...
For N from 1 to 10000
..For I from 1 to N
....If I divides N then
......Store I in divisors of N
This algorithm can be scaled across multiple cores quite easily (just split the first for loop). But in order to waste a lot less processing power when N grows large, we may be tempted to use this variation of the algorithm...
For N from 1 to 10000
..For I from N to 1
....If I divides N then break
..Add I to divisors of N
..Add divisors of I to divisors of N
...which can't be scaled across multiple cores because it relies on the order in which the Ns are enumerated !
RE[4]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?
by rom508 on Fri 27th Aug 2010 20:43
in reply to "RE[3]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?"
Member since:2007-04-20
A first issue related to multicore is that if the input of task N in an algorithm depends on the output of task N-1, you're screwed. This prevents many nice optimizations from being applied.
You just narrowed down to a basic leaf algorithm. I was talking about larger problems, i.e. where each task can be broken down into smaller sub-tasks, and then perhaps those sub-tasks can be broken down into smaller units.
Sure there are some basic algorithms that are difficult to parallelise, however the world is full problems that can be broken down into smaller units.
RE[3]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?
by viton on Fri 27th Aug 2010 17:05
in reply to "RE[2]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?"
Member since:2005-08-09
RE[4]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?
by Zifre on Sat 28th Aug 2010 23:01
in reply to "RE[3]: Are they still stuck in GHz race?"
Member since:2009-10-04
Features
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Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
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Member since:
2007-04-20
What doesn't scale well across multiple cores? Give me a few examples. The signals fired by the human brain are pretty slow compared to what computers can do, however the brain does massive amounts of processing, because everything is wired in parallel with billions of connections.
If you can solve the parallel problem first, getting the individual processing units running at a faster rate will be the trivial task.