Dec 30 2010Scientists Build 1,000 Core Processor, Claim It's 20 Times Faster Than Current Models
Seen here in a GW rendition of what the chip probably looks like, Scottish scientists have built a 1,000-core processor that's 20x faster than those currently on the market, but uses less power. Don't tell Tim "The Toolman" Taylor!
Dr. Wim Vanderbauwhede led a research team at the University of Glasgow to create the futuristic processor using a programmable chip called a field programmable gate array (FPGA).
Instead of the built-in circuitry of conventional desktop computer chips, these processors can be customized. So with some extremely clever programming, the research team was able to divide the processor into 1,000 cores, each capable of its own computation.According to the Daily Mail, the 1,000-core processor processes 5 gigabytes data per second, and that's "20 times faster than modern computers."
I'm all for faster processors, I just don't know why they quit at 1,000 cores. STOP HOLDING OUT ON US! I want some million-core chips and I want them now! But I will settle for a bag of store-brand Doritos. Get it? Chip joke! Also, I heard he gave Monty a reach-around in the back of their helicopter. Rescue Rangers FTW WTF?!
1,000-Core Chip Could Make PCs 20 Times Faster [mashable]
Thanks to Shenanigans, who, exactly -- shenanigans. And to Sam, who invented a billion-core chip but just hasn't built it yet.
Reader Comments
1. Que - December 30, 2010 9:48 AM
Que speedy gonzales!
2. http://www.ConfessionsOfAManwhore.com - December 30, 2010 9:53 AM
SECONTARDED!
3. Chip Chipperson - December 30, 2010 10:10 AM
yeah but like faster chips would make you thirsty faster or something, sss sss
4. yan - December 30, 2010 10:21 AM
Yop
1000/6 = 166.
Why not 166 times faster ? Can someone explain ?
5. Monty - December 30, 2010 10:40 AM
CHEESE! I SMELL CHEESE!
6. Jorgy - December 30, 2010 10:45 AM
I ate some really fast chips at a Mexican restaurant and they didnt even have time to digest
7. mike - December 30, 2010 10:56 AM
great, by the time this puppy hits the market, ill have saved up for a new computer!
and then once i buy it, they will have developed a 2000 core processor... :(
8. Jonathan - December 30, 2010 11:05 AM
...and it will be available in an Apple-compatible format 10 years after the fact, yet touted as the "next big innovation."
9. Leftover - December 30, 2010 11:27 AM
...call it the apple core.
10. McFeely Smackup - December 30, 2010 11:41 AM
So to get 20x faster, all we needed was 1000 more cores?
something seems to be failing the linearity test.
11. Dishy - December 30, 2010 11:42 AM
Nobody will ever need more than 64 processors. -- Bill Gates
12. somerandomguy - December 30, 2010 12:14 PM
There's no case too big, no case too small.
When you need help just call Chi-Chi-Chi Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers!
13. Tenkai - December 30, 2010 2:19 PM
@4 @10 and other who are wondering about the speed.
I work with FPGA programming for fighter jets and FPGA:s cant run at the same speed as a regular CPU becasue they are not built the same way. I usually compare FPGA:s to a box of Lego. You don´t have a finished toy and no matter how good you are it will never be as detailed as a regular toy you buy in a store. But you can take it apart and rebuild it how many times you want.
The sacrifice in is speed. Usually you don´t have any cores at all in a FPGA. You just build logic functions into them.
For more information check out the Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fpga
14. JJtoob - December 30, 2010 2:26 PM
Did they say at what speed each runs? Assuming a 6 core processor running @ 3GHz is their normal one, then these cores would be running @ ~300 MHz. That's no better than your smartphone's processing speed, but putting 1000 of them together will give you a nice boost in performance. (But don't believe me, I don't know jack about computer's insides).
15. LameCake - December 30, 2010 2:36 PM
Now to build a mother board to support it....assuming the pins on the CPU differ from any modern socket on the mother board...would probably need a 2000 watt power supply as well....hmmmm
16. Guy - December 30, 2010 2:44 PM
@15 you noticed he said "but uses less power" right?
17. DMAN - December 30, 2010 4:20 PM
@ 11 He never said that, though I do think he is a boob too hes not that much of a boob
18. ciao - pimpin' - December 30, 2010 4:20 PM
Will they make one that's over 9000? Durr hurr hurrr
But yeah, that's pretty impressive. I'd like to pimp out my pc with that chip.
19. Dishy - December 30, 2010 7:11 PM
@17 DMAN, yeah, I know he never said it (about 640K of ram). It's a great quote even if not real. And now he spends all his time saving lives (malaria).
20. Dog - January 3, 2011 10:05 AM
Rawrf!!