[ILUG] Re: Number crunching

[Ferren MacIntyre]

Thanks for all of the responses.  Between them and follow-ups, I have a
week's work figuring out what all the acronyms and buzzwords mean.  The
problem I have in mind turns out to be an order of magnitude larger than
anticipated-in each of r, z, and t.  Speed *is* going to be an issue; the
Gerris code is in what I consider an antiquated foreign language (C or
friends); gcc is/isn't significantly slower than Intel compilers; the G5
promises (as always) even better Pentium-beating performance; there may or
may not be real mobos/cases for G4; the cumulative effort put into
number-crunching with Intel processors makes any attempt to use neglected
PPCs suicidal; I gave up on Intel's unaesthetic assembler code in 80286
days; &c, &c -- so there are a lot of trade-offs to contemplate.

Given the difficulty of using dual processors efficiently, is there a
low-overhead way of dedcating one to background number crunching, while the
foreground one does the lesser tasks of word- and image-processing?  I've
never had any problem keeping 2 computers gainfully employed in that mode.

More questions anon, after I digest this lot.

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Dr Ferren MacIntyre
MRI, National University of Ireland
Galway, Ireland
(Yes, that really works!)
+353 91 52 44 11 x 3202
	      else
The Mews, Carrownacroagh House
Carnacrow, HEADFORD
Co. Galway, EIRE
(No postcodes in Ireland!)
+353 93 35027
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