Xref: utzoo comp.graphics:7592 comp.arch:11468
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!gatech!mcnc!spl
From: spl@mcnc.org (Steve Lamont)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.arch
Subject: Re: Raytracer performance on machines?
Message-ID: <5436@alvin.mcnc.org>
Date: 22 Sep 89 11:12:18 GMT
References: <6224@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: spl@mcnc.org.UUCP (Steve Lamont)
Organization: Foo Bar Brewers Cooperative
Lines: 35

In article <6224@pt.cs.cmu.edu> pkh@vap.vi.ri.cmu.edu (Ping Kang Hsiung) writes:
>For example, my experience indicates that mtv runs on a
>Cray Y-MP (-hintrinsic,o_level3) ~2.6x than on a PMAX, is this
>(Cray time) the fastest turn-around one can expect?
>Will a Connection Machine do better than this? What about an Intel iPSC?
>The Meiko transputer array? Silicon Graphics's Power series?

Well, it depends on what other things you feel prepared to do.  I have both an
IRIS 4D/120 and a Y-MP here (we just installed a Stardent Titan yesterday,
also) and see the same sort of numbers.  I'll run a couple of experiments
today and get back to you with actual bench marks, if you'd like.

I am currently working on a parallelized version of MTV and should be able to
give you some results from that in a couple of days, barring getting blown
away by Hurricane Hugo, that is :-).

In any case, in order to take advantage of any parallelism on an MPP like a
CM, you'll probably have to do a lot of recoding.  The CM is a SIMD machine
which does not really lend itself *directly* to ray tracing.  I understand
that TMC has done some interesting algorithmic development to actually *do*
ray tracing, but the code certainly would not look anything like MTV as it
stands right now.  Barry, are you out there lurking?  Any comments?

The iPSC and Meiko systems would probably be more straightforward.

If you're interested in results, contact me by private email and I'll be glad
to share my thoughts with you.

							spl (the p stands for
							parallel)
-- 
Steve Lamont, sciViGuy			EMail:	spl@ncsc.org
NCSC, Box 12732, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
"Surrealism only comes later when it seems 'reality' becomes difficult
to achieve." - E. Miya, NASA Ames Research Center