Intel Optimization should be Illegal

[UrbanFuturistic]

The optimisations really shouldn't affect performance on non-intel chips. Truth is, that once the extra instructions on P4 (Xeon or otherwise) chips are used the performance does tend to skyrocket. Just wait 'till Clawhammer hits the market :twisted: A basic recompile ups the performance by 20-30% so think what optimisation would do :cool:
regards, Paulhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/odubtaig/smilies/coffee.gif

[DocBledsoe]

Hae you seen any articles on these new chips that aren't on www.tomshardware.com AND are worth reading? I really do not think these chips are going to beat the new windows to the market.

Incidentally, my frustration was caused by an almost 40% reduction in render times. :surprised

[UrbanFuturistic]

Loads, mostly in magazines but, ahhh, the wonder of Google.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1591
http://www.eweek.com/article/0,3658,s=1870&a=23885,00.asp
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2002apr/gee20020425011388.htm

Processor Roadmap
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_608,00.html

Who the hell reads Tom's Hardware these days anyway?
regards, Paulhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/odubtaig/smilies/coffee.gif

[DocBledsoe]

:) Actually I have come across those articles. A 64bit cpu is amazing, but I see nothing in the way of a 64 bit Windows. Well accept on Nvidia's driver download page. That said I wonder if regular programs can take advantage of a 64 bit chip?

The clawhammer is amazing as well, though I hope to see a nice chipset (like the nforce) that provide better RAM performance. DDR 500 or even DDR 667 would be nice too.

Toms Hardware has fewer ads than any Magazine.

[Nando]

currently I know of One aplication that is using the 64 bit chips
The application is code named Toxik, its Discreets Windows based Highend Compositing tunrkey system. Its similiar to the Inferno's and Flames that run on IRIX.
Toxik was just a technology preview at the show meaning it may or may not be released but you can read some info on it at

www.fxguide.com

[UrbanFuturistic]

Well, in the articles I've seen before (which I may or may have not pointed you to) AMD are working with nVidia to produce a direct hookup from the CPU to the x8 AGP slot that'll feature. This'll bypass the northbridge and rock a monkey's fat one.

Also, the memory controller'll be integrated into the Clawhammer. I suspect they'll make it as fast as possible.

Windows NT has been available as 64 Bit for the (now non-existent) Alpha chip... originally produced (I think) by DEC, then Digital, then Compaq and now no-one since Intel bought all the IP rights.

WinXP is now available for the Intel Itanium chip which is probably what the 64Bit windows drivers are for.

Microsoft has said (mentioned in the Anandtech article) it will support the chips and with the current AMD market share they'd be daft not to... but since all 32Bit code will run on them and it only took M$ about a decade to make their main OS fully 32Bit this could be any time before 2012.

But seriously, I think they'll be pushing it since all the GNU/Linux vendors have been working with AMD to have production ready 64Bit versions of GNU/Linux ready for the launch.
regards, Paulhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/odubtaig/smilies/coffee.gif

[DocBledsoe]

:rolleyes: Great, that is all I need.

I don't mind Linux, but I do mind the idea of all my software not working with it. I am twice as pissed b/c last year I miagrated to ASP.net from ASP and I fear that the .net framework will not be there for Linux machines.

[ZrO-1]

MS has also been working with AMD on the 64b version of windows. But the really great thing about the sledge and claw hammers is that, unlike the Itanium (barf), the hamers run both 32b and 64b equally well. So the differences in application (not system) performance should be little to none. I know that the two demo boxes AMD has up and running (one sledgehammer, one clawhammer) both have 64b versions of windows on them.

[UrbanFuturistic]

This link (http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-2001-07/lw-07-mono.html) might help answer any .NET questions... then again it might not, not really my field.

But like I said, (I did say didn't I?) All of your current software will run on these chips just fine so there's no need to have 64Bit software if you want to upgrade. Plus you should be able to run all your 32Bit software at the same time as 64Bit software and even on top of a 64Bit operating system.

I thought one of the boxes was running a 64 bit version of the SuSE GNU/Linux distro.
regards, Paulhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/odubtaig/smilies/coffee.gif

PS. A thought occurs, I wonder how Lightwave was optimised as any thoroughly thought out optimisation should have minimal impact on how it runs on other chips... but if they stuck it through the Intel compiler and called it optimisation then...

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