Cadalyst - May 2008 - (Page 23)

viewpoint CPU Architecture Today Heat becoming un unmanageable problem PRODUCE. PERSUADE. PERFORM. Figure 1. In CPU architecture today, heat is becoming an unmanageable problem. (Courtesy of Pat Gelsinger, Intel Developer Forum, Spring 2004) ON PAPER. WITH CANON GENUINE TONER, PARTS AND SUPPLIES. embryonic on the evolutionary scale. Only last year did a voice-recognition program, called Sync, hit the mainstream in some Ford vehicles. Although useful and fun, such recognition controls a relatively small set of tasks. So how does the brain keep up at such slow speeds? It massively parallels communication between approximately a 100 billion neurons, computing complexity in a cumulative time that is superior to any computer on our planet. The interesting question is, of course, how far away we are from a similar massively parallel-computing capability in a practical form factor. Let’s explore this notion. First, CPUs are rapidly scaling with cores at slower speeds, but they’re still quicker than interneuron communication. It’s very possible that CPUs with thousands of cores might consume less power because they would operate at slower clock speeds. Second, CPUs can be paired in multiples within a single machine (multicore, multiprocessor). Third, each machine can, in turn, be networked into a cluster or farm of computers, effectively creating an enormous supercomputer of gargantuan scale. It therefore makes some sense that if a system could be devised on a chip in a 3D form rather than interconnected flat layers, the CPU might rival the brain’s architecture. But there is no guarantee of intelligence. Developing an intellect would require software that can take advantage of parallel computation and address bounds of memory upon which to store, change, and evolve May 2008 cadalyst www.cadalyst.com both results and its own design. Conceptually, it seems possible, with one exception: Although hardware might one day mimic the architecture of the brain, there is no precedent for massively parallel software because coding techniques are bound by a legacy of serialized computing architecture. Talking Parallelism Allow me to reveal what might not be obvious: CAD applications do not run any faster. In fact, they might even be slower because multicore CPUs have generally lower clock speeds than their single-core parents. However, from a user’s perspective, these CPUs have made a dramatic improvement in how people interact with computers. Switching between applications is substantially faster. Multimedia applications run flawlessly, delivering eye-popping, high-definition content. Some photo-editing applications and animation packages output images and video noticeably faster. However, CAD applications have not capitalized on the multicore opportunity and consequently have not derived any tangible direct benefits. To take advantage of multiple CPU cores, software must thread, or task, across cores simultaneously or intelligently split tasks among cores to provide a balance of performance and interactivity. An animation application, for example, can sequence rendering of frames simultaneously to each core, effectively processing frames 1 and 2 of the sequence at the same time and then scheduling frames 3 and 4. In other words, www.usa.canon.com 1-800-OK-CANON Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be a registered trademark or trademark in other countries. IMAGEANYWARE is a trademark of Canon. © 2007 Canon U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved. 23 http://www.usa.canon.com http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - May 2008

Cadalyst - May 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central A Solid Job in AutoCAD Today’s Power — Quad-Core Workstations Performance — Tomorrow’s Possibilities Reverse Engineering an Antique Italian Treasure Trends in Reverse Engineering NextEngine 3D Scanner — Reverse-Engineering Tool Setting CAD Standards Fight for Your Hardware Rights The Jack and Jill of Ergonomics Technology for Civil Infrastructure Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Shortcuts and Solutions

Cadalyst - May 2008

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