Re: multicore gizmos
> On 02/16/07 17:16, pinniped wrote:
>> 'Multicore' processors are pretty new - older machines have always had
>> an enormous number of processors. 80 cores on a single chip would take
>
> With "enormous" always changing. Relative to the number of 2x SMP
> systems, very few systems have 8 CPUs, and Very Few (measured in the
> 10s of thousands) have more than 16. The vast majority of systems
> just don't *need* 4 CPUs, much less 8+.
>
> Of course, in 5 years I'll have a 4-core desktop with a 512MB PCIe
> video card and GB ethernet, and it'll still average a
0.05 load,
> just like today. Sigh.
>
Indeed. In 5 years I'll have the same 4-core desktop but with 3 PCIe
videocards connected to 3 LCD monitors supporting a 3-seater and I'll
have discovered a laptop to do the same. Great future.
Hugo
You might have been happy with a simple console 10 years ago, which required close to no computing power (comparing to today's machines).
Compare that to what you require a machine to to today.
Hell, vista has such absurd hardware requirements because of just that.
They aim for future hardware that will be able to cope with the tasks its we are throwing at it.
You don't optimize software anymore. Most people don't - they don't need to. Its cheaper to throw more hardware at it, then to optimize.
Once multicore processors will be the standard, i expect an operating system that does dozens of things at the same time, with no lag whatsoever.
As linux handles multicore cpu's pretty well today, i think the main changes will occur inside desktop enviroments such as KDE or GNOME.
Today i have at least a couple of terminals and at least 4 GUI apps running at the same time, on different desktops.
Currently they share the same CPU, but what if each had its own ?
Your user experience would enhance.
You wouldn't notice if you let a couple of cpu intensive (by today's standards) apps go all the way, and not wait for other processes on the system.
Or - those apps would end in a flash.
Also - considering the way things are going - we are all getting more and more Internet oriented.
Im writing this in a web app (gmail) right now!
All of this costs CPU cycles. We never had too many of those around.
Well... it never took too long for us to utilize them anyway.
Ladies and Gentlemen - the future is bright :)
--
Pozdrawiam
Łukasz Andrzejak
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