Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!dev!dgis!jkrueger From: jkrueger@dgis.dtic.dla.mil (Jon) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: LINPACK 1000x1000 MFLOPS per $$$ Message-ID: <939@dgis.dtic.dla.mil> Date: 23 Jul 90 00:31:53 GMT References: <2349@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <37683@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> Organization: Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), Alexandria VA Lines: 20 mccalpin@perelandra.cms.udel.edu (John D. McCalpin) I wrote: >> [on the topic of KILLER MICROS] > % (1) The cost must be within the available budget. > % This includes the cost of porting the code as well. Two data points on that. I ported a standalone 500 line C program to the RS6000. Its performance was about 10 times what I got on a VAX-11/780 running 4.3 BSD UNIX. I also ported a 3 line awk script to the RS6000. Its performance was zero: it hung. The process went fully computable and couldn't be killed. Performance estimate: (10+0)/2 = 5 times a VAX-11/780. (You wanted a geometric mean?) There was no floating point in the C program, and probably none in the awk. The RS6000's excellent floating point performance did not help it here. Reliable system software would have helped its performance. -- Jon -- Jonathan Krueger jkrueger@dtic.dla.mil uunet!dgis!jkrueger Drop in next time you're in the tri-planet area!