Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 20:29:42 02/07/03
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On February 06, 2003 at 15:47:02, Tom Kerrigan wrote: >On February 06, 2003 at 00:29:46, Russell Reagan wrote: > >>A few questions about 64-bit machines... >> >>1. For chess programming (mainly for bitboards), do either AMD or Intel's 64-bit >>chips have any features that would make it more desirable over the other? Number >>of registers, cache size, special instructions (bsf, popcnt, etc.), or whatever >>else. > >IA-64 pros: >* Lots of registers >* Lots of cache > >x86-64 pros: >* High clock speed >* Out of order execution >* Twice as many registers as x86 >* Runs x86 software fast >* Will be available in cheap PCs (imagine, a 64-bit PC chip for $50...) > >x86-64 wins hands down IMO. > >>2. How much will one be able to take advantage of the hardware using a C/C++ >>compiler and no assembly programming? The reason I ask this question is because > >Programs written in C/C++ will get a performance gain from just recompiling for >x86-64 because they'll be able to use the extra registers and all the bitboard >operations will become 64-bit operations. If the programs have assembly, the >assembly will have to be updated for the program to run in 64-bit mode. > >Assembly on IA-64 is a moot point because it's nearly impossible to write >assembly for the chip. > >-Tom Why would you think that? Go back 30 years to the HP 2100 micro-programmable machine. The micro-instructions were similar in concept with the IA64 in a gross way, yet we had students programming that machine with no problems. It is different. It requires a bit of "new thinking". But multiple instruction parcels in a single long word is not _that_ bad... I think that trying to keep up with all the optimization details for even IA32 is a very complex undertaking...
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