The true PS3 super-computer

[Profcrab]

alephnull said:

Yay, once again nobody knows what they are talking about.

@ All those who think cell was designed as a "server" chip.

The thing a SPE's are not good at are running what they used to call "ring 0" instructions back in the DOS days. These are things that happen alot when you do things like oh say opening a socket. But then again what kind of server would need to do that alot, so I guess you're right.

Anyhow everything is going to be in userspace as we are all going to be running mircokernels anyday now, right?

The cell is hard to program for because there is no cache-coherency between SPEs. This used to be the norm back in the Super-Mini days but single chips kept increasing in clock speed and the age of super computers died.

Well things have come full circle. They can't keep increasing clockspeed w/o assigning a nuclear generator to each house and they can't keep increasing the number of cores and maintain cache-coherency.

@Profcrab

There is a reason our research group bought a cluster of PS3s for our simulations. The reason the games aren't out is because 1) is today's average industry programmer is not what he/she used to be and 2) Sony released way before they were ready, there was such a shortage of cell chips none of the library developers could get ahold of them. The linux on cell group manager at IBM told me even they had trouble getting their hands on systems and this was last summer.

 Slighting programmers as a reason doesn't make alot of sense.  With the money sunk into these games there is an strong financial advantage for any company (and definitely Sony) that can make the Cell pump out the games that give them a leg up over the competition.  So are you saying that they are all average industry programmers?  There is not one company developing for the PS3 that has anyone that can figure it out with the money that is on the line?  Especially at Sony of all companies?  Bullshit.  I can understand that the Cell is hard to program for, we've known that for a while.  When I see the Cell outperform the competition in games, then I'll believe it was the right longterm choice for Sony.  I'm not saying that it isn't, I'm just saying that hasn't shown it so far and doesn't look like it will in the near future from what we are seeing in the previews of new games.

 I give that post a 9.8.