what is the opposite of parallel computation architectures?

[Anarchist420]

which is the most parallel of the following 3:
multi core cpus (like sandy bridge), rops, cuda cores?

i'm asking because i forgot, but one of the smartest people ive ever been pm'd by said that the problem with today's architectures is that they are not radically parallel enough and that we wouldn't need hardware functions if they were.

he was talking about fpgas being parallel but that something even more parallel can and should be done and also said that being more parallel than that would blur the wall between hardwired functions vs doing things in software.

people here know that i favor doing away with hardware blending and hardware depth because they aren't versatile. and i definitely think it can be done without a net disadvantage now that someone told me that architectures can be made radically parallel to blur the wall.

im sorry if this was in the wrong forum or if i misunderstood what he said.

 

[GaiaHunter]

The opposite of parallel is serial.

A modern GPU is more parallel than a modern CPU, but I'm not sure if you can say rops or stream processors are more parallel than the other.

The current GPU architectures keep evolving in the way of less fixed hardware functions and more programmable stream processors (cuda cores are stream processors).

The problem of every parallel architecture is how you bring all that you have computed in parallel together.

About FPGAs.

FPGAs are an alternative to ASICs.
I'm not sure if FPGAs are more parallel than ASICs per say.
They are field programmable, which means you can customize them after shipping and there are talks of reconfiguration on the fly.

Probably this is better suited for the "highly technical" forums.

 

[Anarchist420]

A modern GPU is more parallel than a modern CPU, but I'm not sure if you can say rops or stream processors are more parallel than the other.

thank you. perhaps carmack was right back in the day when he said that multi core cpus may not have been the answer.

i know i keep mentioning john carmack, but that doesnt mean that want to have sex with him or anything... i just admire his intellectual rebelliousness and original thought.

The problem of every parallel architecture is how you bring all that you have computed in parallel together.

then that's not a problem with programmers who think outside the box. look at all that the sega saturn could do in its day in the hands of the right programmers.

but then i dont want to even think about the best 1% of programmers anymore because it just makes me think about shenmue 3 never coming out.