I've been thinking a lot lately about microprocessors, from the many-core CPUs that AMD and Intel introduced recently to the massively scalable GPGPU processing that's taking machine learning by storm. After years of consolidation on commodity x86 CPUs, it seems that the computing paradigm is turning again to specialized offload processors. This trend towards heterogeneous … [Read more...] about Co-Processors, GPGPU, and Heterogeneous Computing
NVIDIA
Where Have All The GPU’s Gone? Cryptocurrency Mining!
Over the last month, high-performance graphics cards have disappeared from retailer stock, selling out immediately as they appear. Although AMD's new RX 580 offers decent graphics performance for the money, gamers aren't driving this demand. Instead, it's all about cryptocurrency mining, with Ethereum leading the way. It's time for AMD to get in on this game, with special … [Read more...] about Where Have All The GPU’s Gone? Cryptocurrency Mining!
Benchmarking the 2011 13″ Core i5 MacBook Pro
As I mentioned in my previous article, I decided to buy the 13" Core i5 (base model) MacBook Pro. It meets my needs as a travel workstation, but how does it perform? I decided to benchmark it against my other Macs to see how it stands up. Benchmark Details The following benchmarks were performed using Xbench and Geekbench, running on a freshly-booted machine. Xbench is … [Read more...] about Benchmarking the 2011 13″ Core i5 MacBook Pro
VMware ESX SATA and PATA Compatibility Cheat Sheet
The VMware ESX hardware compatibility list is awesome but it's kind of hard to wade through. It's super-detailed, but difficult to navigate if one is browsing for compatible hardware. Although SATA and especially PATA aren't exactly mainstream in enterprise datacenters, they're the most-likely storage attachment for labs and tinkerers like me. So I decided to put together a … [Read more...] about VMware ESX SATA and PATA Compatibility Cheat Sheet
Not Good: My MacBook Pro’s nVidia 8600M Video Failed
The nVidia 8600M GT graphics chip in my late-2007 (Merom/Santa Rosa) MacBook Pro has failed. I knew it might happen, noting it back in August of 2008, and it was one reason I bought an AppleCare warranty. Apple has promised to repair affected machines for three years regardless of warranty status, but that doesn't make it any easier to live with. Let's hope everything goes … [Read more...] about Not Good: My MacBook Pro’s nVidia 8600M Video Failed