Author: David Mitchell
Date: 04:56:07 09/02/05
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On September 02, 2005 at 06:45:23, Robert Hollay wrote: > > In some earlier threads we can read: Hydra has a "hardware based" chess >program, >the other chess programs are "software based". >Can somebody explain (in easy to understand way) what are the main differences? >AFAIK each computer consists of hardware and software. Hydra must have a good >software to play such a strong chess, the brute hardware alone is not enough... > If another chess program runs on 8 processors, why that program is not >"hardware >based"? > Why is Hydra so different from other chess computers? > >TIA, Robert Computers are general purpose machines, most commonly. They can play games, work on your taxes, help write a report, whatever. Special purpose hardware computers, like Belle, Deep Blue, and now Hydra, use a general purpose computer and software, but they also use/used specialty hardware that had either been built or programmed (or both), ONLY to play chess. Hydra uses several FPGA cards, which are programmable bus cards that run in parallel with the main computer, and with each other. The advantage is that such hardware is much faster than software. The disadvantage is that it's WAY more expensive, and the programming is much slower and much harder to do. As the speed of PC's continues to increase, the hardware advantage of Hydra may disappear, year by year. The sponsors of Hydra, like Deep Blue's sponsor (IBM), have put a lot of money and effort into their project. Although both were only one or two machines each, both projects have employed an entire team of experts to move it forward successfully. If you google seach on Hydra, you'll find lots of info on the net, including a rather large video from Hydra's sponsor. Dave
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