SandmanNinja Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 Dual-core, quad-core and... 100-core: why chips will be getting a lot more cores in the near future.. http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2009/10/dual-core_quad-.html With 8-core chips being the current wunder-boys of the chip world, and with most new computers sold today featuring dual or quad-core chips, it may come as surprise that the new chips on the horizon aren't 12 or 18 core bits of silicon, but 100 core. How the hell do they fit the extra 92 cores in? I don't know, but a semi-conductor company called Tilera with connections to MIT university in Boston claims they do, and their 100 cores processors are expected to be on the market from early next year. Made using 40-nanometer technology, the chip would break Moore's law that states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years. Current chip architecture from companies like Intel is limited by information gridlocks forming in certain central junctions, but by adopting a mesh architecture, those clever MIT kids seem to have side-stepped the problem. When would you ever need that much power? "If you need huge computing power, say for instance to encode and decode multiple video streams, our processor can do it at much more efficiency than Intel chip or a digital signal processor," Agarwal of Tilera tells Gadget Lab. We imagine games would be a bit more exciting riding on a 100core processor as well. Not that Intel are lagging behind - their research labs are already working on a similar idea. Last year, they showed a prototype of a 80-core processor, which they promise will be available to consumers in about five years. Given that it's unlikely the Tilera chips will be making their way into the average PC in a hurry, best to hang on for the Intel version unless you are encoding multiple video streams or are one of those must-have-the-latest-chip types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lester_Masterson Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 So with a few of these...one might be able to get a Maxwell render done in a reasonable amount of time (snark) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Smith Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 So with a few of these...one might be able to get a Maxwell render done in a reasonable amount of time (snark) doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 It will take a company outside of Intel to push the market for number of cores to 100 by early next year. I believe Intel likes to saturate the market with each chip before moving to the next level, basically, maximizing their profits. An outside contender can help push them to move forward. Isn't AMD credited with forcing Intel to start serious development on its 64bit lineup. ...I am not going to hold my breath though while waiting for these 100 core chips to come out. I am more of a seeing is believing person. At least I am becoming more that way as I get older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spacelord Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I was impressed by AMDS 12 cores, but 100 !! holycow. http://techreport.com/discussions.x/17840 You just have to wonder if code needs to be re rewritten to take advantage of the these processors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Johnston Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 You also have to wonder how fast is fast enough for the average consumer and what will they do with all that extra power. Take my wife for example, the only things she does on the computer is run Microsoft Office apps and Firefox. None of that taxes the dual core processors that much, so if she had a 100 core machine 98% of the cores would probably never get used. With that much power just sitting there apps would need to be rewritten to be more intelligent, this is where an AI could really find it's place in the average persons home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandmanNinja Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 I remember being a young lad and going to an IBM Computer Expo (of some sort - I forget the details). There was this businessman in a gray suit and tie and I asked him about his computer. He said, "Son, this computer is an IBM XT. There is no way an average home user would EVER have a need for that much power..." hehehe Build it and they will come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Johnston Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Yea I remember when I was selling computers in the mid 90's and they came out with the first gigabite hard drives, people were saying you'd never fill them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted November 4, 2009 Share Posted November 4, 2009 Don't forget the 1981 quote of Bill Gates saying.... “640K of memory should be enough for anybody.” . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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