ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2007) — Supercomputing-like performance could be available for countless scientific applications through an approach that exploits the power of reconfigurable computing using field-programmable gate array.

In a recent demonstration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers tripled the speed of a popular biomolecular simulation package using standard programming languages on a system offered by SRC Computers.

While field-programmable gate arrays, which are a different type of logic chip than traditional microprocessors, are traditionally used for other purposes -- such as signal processing -- the team of ORNL and SRC Computers researchers has bridged the gap to exploit their incredible capabilities for improved performance on scientific applications.

"This possibility could deliver performance of supercomputing devices to institutional clusters and desktop users while balancing their needs for scientific productivity," said Sadaf Alam of ORNL's Computer Science and Mathematics Division and a co-author of the paper published in Computer."

This research is funded by DOE's Office of Science and the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program.

Reference: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2007.108

Related Stories

Soft Hardware For A Flexible Chip (Apr. 24, 2009) — Technology is struggling to meet demands for high-performance, specialised computing systems. A European consortium is responding with a new kind of reconfigurable chip that is both efficient and ...  > read more

Supercomputer Fastest Of Its Type In World (July 24, 2009) — A supercomputer named Novo-G described by its lead designer as likely the most powerful computer of its kind in the world became operational the week of July 21, ...  > read more

'Not So Fast, Supercomputers,' Say Software Programmers (May 26, 2007) — The fastest of the fastest computers - supercomputers used at national research centers, research universities and major corporations - will soon gain even more performance by taking advantage of ...  > read more

Engineer Creates First Academic Playstation 3 Computing Cluster (Mar. 20, 2007) — The Sony Playstation 3 (PS3), Xbox and Nintendo Wii have captivated a generation of computer gamers with bold graphics and rapid-fire animation. But these high-tech toys can do a lot more than just ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily

Smart Pants