[sdiy] fantasy computer poll

[Richard Wentk]

At 20:06 28/05/2005, Phil Harbison wrote:
>I know this isn't an analog topic, and I don't mean to start
>another digital-vs-analog thread; however, this is DIY (sort
>of) so I hope nobody objects to this poll.
>
>Suppose you were given a computer with the following specs.
>
>    + 512 processors (each PowerPC G4 or Pentium4 class)
>    + 2 Terabytes (2024GB) of DDR2 memory (not disk, *RAM*)
>    + 10 Gigabit Ethernet connections to the outside world
>    + Each processor is interconnected (i.e can share memory
>      or pass messages to the other processors)
>    + Assume any necessary I/O devices are available (e.g.
>      DACs, ADCs, MIDI, SCSI, etc.)

This being a DIY list, it's maybe worth mentioning that you can build one 
of these for about $100,000 now.

Hey, it's not peanuts, but some people have that kind of cash lying around.

It's also a reasonable spec for a generic desktop machine 10-15 years from 
now. Although it's more likely that we'll see some kind of Grid system 
offering distributed computing on demand, instead of big boxes in one place 
that spend a lot of time idle.

>What would you do with it? Other than the obvious application
>(generating enough virtual porn to last a lifetime) I can
>think of a few applications.
>
>    + directly synthesize an entire orchestra

Ha. Processor power won't be the problem for that one. But you'll run out 
of life before you can finish the job properly. (Unless you use samples. 
But that would be boring.)

>   + search genomics databases for DNA matches

Boring.

>   + large scale simulations (e.g. global weather, US economy)

Also boring.

>   + extremely fast database server

Yawn and a half.

>   + extremely fast search engine (Google on steroids)

Google has slightly better hardware than this, I suspect.

>   + CGI and animation rendering

That would be more likely. Some of my renders literally take days. It would 
be good to get that time down to minutes.

>   + signal processing (FFTs, FIR filters, etc.)

Even more likely.

I think some kind of ultimate digisynth would be a good goal. Kyma on 
steroids would do it for me.

Richard