Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!oakhill!motaus!skipper
From: skipper@motaus.sps.mot.com (Skipper Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics
Subject: Re: Mandelbrot Madness
Keywords: Mandelbrot
Message-ID: <1991Jan31.194702.26511@motaus.sps.mot.com>
Date: 31 Jan 91 19:47:02 GMT
References: <18986df1.ARN27d8@prolix.ccadfa.oz.au> <1991Jan29.133659.20006@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> <804@cbmger.UUCP>
Organization: Motorola Semiconductor, Austin, Texas
Lines: 43

In article <804@cbmger.UUCP> peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY) writes:
>In article <1991Jan29.133659.20006@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:
>>
>>>> Of course, the last Mandelbrot demo I wrote was for a 28-processor
>>>> transputer system, so I had it in places where 15,000 iterations was
>>>> too fuzzy; I had to go to 17,000. At 513x513 resolution, this wrapped
>>>> the flops counter past 2^32.
>>
>>> Right. (512^2) * 17000 = 4.4*10^12 flops.
>>
>>Much too slow. If you can't do full screen resolution (preferably
>>1280x1024) to the needed number of iterations (here 17,000, but pick 32K
>>for a nice number), at the frame rate of the display (say 60 frames per
>>second) then you don't have enough horsepower yet.
>
>Yes, that's the point. I REALLY WANT a flight simulator program where
>I can fly with mouse control through the valleys of MandelMountains!
>As long as our computers don't provide this, they are still much too
>slow!
>
>-- 
>Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel  // E-Mail to  \\  Only my personal opinions... 
>Commodore Frankfurt, Germany  \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk

Weeeelllll, what you could do is build a 68040/dual 96002 board for the A3000.
The 68040 would handle all of the integer operations that needed to be done,
the 96002s each do about 40 MFLOPS, and you relegate the 68030 (the one on the
motherboard that is still active on the A3000, remember) to a DMA processor to
keep feeding you data.  I have heard of someone who is working on just such a
product, however I do not believe that it will be commercial (I think it may be
for the DoD, but I really don't know) and so I will not mention who they are.
However, it would be a particularly WONDERFUL thing for anybody who could afford
it!  Just out of curiosity, how fast do ya'll think this would crunch data.  I
think the target of the previously mentioned product was to be able to crunch
U.S. Geological Survey data into fractal landscapes in real time (basically,
take the VISTA videotape and make it interactive for a basic idea).  I don't 
know if they will make it, but it is an admirable task.
 

-- 
Skipper Smith                             | skipper@motaus.sps.mot.com
Motorola Technical Training               | 8945 Guilford Rd  Ste 145  
All opinions are my own, not my employers | Columbia, MD 21046