SSE2 vs SSE3 uptake on X86
25 Feb 2011 10:45:42 UTC
Topic 195673
(moderation:
Almost universally, most PCs these days have MMX and SSE by default. To not have an SSE version of some kind for a distributed computing application is rare.
There are quite a few mobile PC chips out there that used to have almost no support for SSE3, but this is fading. I think I own one, but don't have Vista running on it so it is not so easy to test for.
SSE means :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_SIMD_Extensions
I suspect that if E@H did a user base differential :
SSE2 users
---------- = x
SSE3 users
that it would be less than 2.
For SSE/SSE3 it would be greater than 3, I assume. SSE2 and SS3 instructions (as compliers implement them) do offer some fantastic speed advantages. Yet the uptake for these instructions is still slow outside multimedia users.
Myself -- I have never liked the X86 instructions, memory nor register design. Yes, the CPUs work -- but one is only a few instructions away from disaster. The X86 CPUs -- you can only love if you like your finite state machines cobbled together.
The 680x0 family was always better, but a mere stopgap until better ideas could come along like
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(microprocessor)[/url]
SSE2 vs SSE3 uptake on X86
)
I just checked my units and saw this
"Global Correlations S5 HF search #1 v3.06 (S5GCESSE2)". You can see that it is using SSE2 for crunching, your pc's are hidden though so I can't check your units. All of my pc's are elsewhere for this month as my Team is crunching in remberence of a deceased members favorite project so I don't have alot of units.
What I get from our GW
)
What I get from our GW Application (S5GC1):
- SSE3 doesn't help this application much, so there are no such application versions built and I can't say anything about the distribution
- we get more results from the Mac OX PPC AltiVec app than from all non-SSE2 x86 Apps (SSE and "standard" FPU, Windows and Linux) together. In fact I'm wondering whether it does make sense to continue supporting non-SSE2 CPUs at all.
BM
PS: I agree that of all CPU architectures available at any given time since the days of the 8080, the architecture of the Intel CPUs had always been among the worst. Every other CPU design that I can remember (Motorola 6809 & 68k, SPARC, MIPS, Alpha, PowerPC) was better and did overcome a couple of limitations that x86 CPUs still suffer from. But it's not primarily hardware properties that sells computers, it's software (availability & cost).
BM
RE: What I get from our GW
)
Most of those non-SSE2 x86s probably belong to me. ;)
RE: Most of those non-SSE2
)
Ok, then it does make sense ;-)
BM
Edit: seriously I'll probably drop the SSE-only App for the next run. There will be a SSE2 App and a "compatibility" App.
BM
No, no, no. :) I still run an
)
No, no, no. :)
I still run an old Athlon XP 3000 24/7 since many years on the first motherboard without any errors! I doubt that todays technology(mainboards, disks) will last that long. But anyway I would use it for WCG, if non SSE CPU's will not be supported here any more.
Happy WE
RE: if non SSE CPU's will
)
If I understood Bernd correctly they'd run the plain x86 codepath on the traditional FPU instead of the SSE1 unit.
MrS
Scanning for our furry friends since Jan 2002