By: Doug Siebert (foo.delete@this.foo.bar), November 19, 2010 12:06 am
Room: Moderated Discussions
someone (someone@somewhere.com) on 11/18/10 wrote:
---------------------------
>I guess you are ignorant of the fact that IA64 includes
>means for the compiler to associate hints about the
>spacial and temporal locality of the data associated
>with each load and store instruction as well as specify
>the degree of ordering strictness required between sets
>of memory transfers. These features, AFAIK unique to
>IA64, allow conflict and capacity misses to be reduced
>as well as avoiding stalls from hardware enforcement
>of unnecessary memory ordering.
>
>It is funny how negative opinion of IA64 is so highly
>correlated with degree of sheer ignorance about it. ;^)
Are you suggesting that one's opinion of IA64 should be governed by its unique features, and since it does a lot of things differently from anyone else we should have a positive opinion about it?
Funny, I tend to form my opinions about IA64 versus x86 versus POWER versus SPARC based on real world factors such as their relative performance, power usage, cost, etc. (taking into account x86's obvious advantages in economies of scale where cost is concerned) and my assessment of the prospects for improvements to these factors in the future.
If people believed that IA64's unique features would in the future lead to higher performance versus the competition in the future, or lower cost, or better performance/watt or whatever one cares about (such as chess performance for certain very narrowly focused RWT readers) then it would be granted more positive opinions. Having an interesting architecture doesn't mean it should be loved.
Perhaps your opinion of IA64 is based more on its pure technical merit as an architecture, and you are willing to overlook warts such as its performance shortcomings. Certainly one can appreciate beautiful designs like the Cray-1, just as one can appreciate a beautiful mansion built 200 years ago. But once you have to live in it and face a cold and drafty winter you might prefer a tightly built but drab modern home for actual day to day living.
I think you are the guy who spends his winters freezing his ass off in front of the fireplace in that 200 year old home, wondering why people only come to your parties in the summer when they can sit out on the veranda :)
---------------------------
>I guess you are ignorant of the fact that IA64 includes
>means for the compiler to associate hints about the
>spacial and temporal locality of the data associated
>with each load and store instruction as well as specify
>the degree of ordering strictness required between sets
>of memory transfers. These features, AFAIK unique to
>IA64, allow conflict and capacity misses to be reduced
>as well as avoiding stalls from hardware enforcement
>of unnecessary memory ordering.
>
>It is funny how negative opinion of IA64 is so highly
>correlated with degree of sheer ignorance about it. ;^)
Are you suggesting that one's opinion of IA64 should be governed by its unique features, and since it does a lot of things differently from anyone else we should have a positive opinion about it?
Funny, I tend to form my opinions about IA64 versus x86 versus POWER versus SPARC based on real world factors such as their relative performance, power usage, cost, etc. (taking into account x86's obvious advantages in economies of scale where cost is concerned) and my assessment of the prospects for improvements to these factors in the future.
If people believed that IA64's unique features would in the future lead to higher performance versus the competition in the future, or lower cost, or better performance/watt or whatever one cares about (such as chess performance for certain very narrowly focused RWT readers) then it would be granted more positive opinions. Having an interesting architecture doesn't mean it should be loved.
Perhaps your opinion of IA64 is based more on its pure technical merit as an architecture, and you are willing to overlook warts such as its performance shortcomings. Certainly one can appreciate beautiful designs like the Cray-1, just as one can appreciate a beautiful mansion built 200 years ago. But once you have to live in it and face a cold and drafty winter you might prefer a tightly built but drab modern home for actual day to day living.
I think you are the guy who spends his winters freezing his ass off in front of the fireplace in that 200 year old home, wondering why people only come to your parties in the summer when they can sit out on the veranda :)
