The discussion centers around Intel's potential release of a 64-bit processor, specifically the Prescott, and the broader implications for processor speeds and cooling technologies. Participants explore the current state of processor technology, including concerns about power consumption, heat generation, and the evolution of CPU architecture.
Participants express a range of opinions regarding the future of processor speeds and the challenges of heat and power consumption. There is no consensus on whether significant speed increases will occur soon, and multiple competing views on the necessity and implications of high-speed processors are present.
Participants mention various technical aspects such as voltage levels, power consumption, and cooling solutions, indicating a complex interplay of factors affecting processor performance. Some assumptions about the future of technology and market trends remain unresolved.
No, it doesn't. Power is voltage * current (or, more generally, force * rate of application of that force).Guybrush Threepwood said:
No. "Power functions are proportional with the frequency and with the square of the voltage [3], [4]." The reason power increases as the square of voltage increases (within a given system) is that current in a circuit goes up as the voltage goes up. E.g., doubling the voltage also doubles the current, and both of these effects together add up to a quadrupling of power consumption. However, simply doubling a chip's clock speed will merely double the electrical current feeding it, and hence merely double the power consumption. Battling this, CPU's have gradually evolved to operate on ever-lower voltages. The power-draw is still rising, but not as much as it would without concommitant decreases in voltage.
It seems that computers will soon begin shipping with built-in water-cooling systems. Compressor-based cooling solutions may lie in the future for commodity computer systems, as well.
My small air conditioner removes 1500 watts of heat continuously, without making so much noise that you can't easily talk over it. As far as PC cooling today (or in the near future), Cooligy claims to have in development a rather quiet and extraordinarily effective liquid cooling solution for CPU's.theamazingTWOeyedman said:
This is the end of Moore's law.dduardo said:
When you have one computer in a room, noise might not be a big issue, but when you have 50, its a deal-breaker. Also, a/c units and even just water cooling add significant cost and complexity to a computer. And then of course, there is heat rejection: what do you do with all of that heat when it leaves the case (after being multiplied by 3 by a portable A/C unit)? Pretty soon, they'll have to circulate chilled water to every cubicle in an office for cooling the computers.
Clock speed is not the same thing as a general factor of computational power. Which two CPU's are you using?Njorl said:
I'm currently converting my parents' old vhs tapes to dvd...Njorl said:
hitssquad said: