Multiprocessor coding

[Volker]

Hi all,

i currently think about buying a ps3, because i read that it is a multiple core processor. But before buying one, i want to be sure.

So can anybody tell me how many threads the ps3 can have parallel if you code with:
- OpenMP (with the gcc compiler)
- Qt (Qt 4.4 has a new feature called "concurrent".)

thank you for your answer.

Volker

PS:
Please write if you don't know how to check it, but if you know how to compile with gcc and/or Qt, then i can write a small code so you can check it.

[ps3fanboy]

i don't know about openmp and qt...
on cell you usually work with spe_contexts. and you can have many of those.

[sopordave]

So can anybody tell me how many threads the ps3 can have parallel if you code with:
- OpenMP (with the gcc compiler)
- Qt (Qt 4.4 has a new feature called "concurrent".)

thank you for your answer.

Volker

PS:
Please write if you don't know how to check it, but if you know how to compile with gcc and/or Qt, then i can write a small code so you can check it.

Someone correct me if I am mistaken, but you will only be able to have two traditional threads, the second of which is just a context, and has no real processing power behind it. The multi-core aspect of the Cell lies in its SPUs, which are only accessible through a special library. I haven't actually looked, but I doubt that OpenMP and Qt support it.

[Maximus32]

The Cell processor in the PS3 has:
- 1 "Power Processing Element" or PPE
- 7 "Synergistic Processor Elements" or SPE's.

The PPE is like a normal CPU, it will run your main code. The SPE's are not. They can not access the main memory, but run from their own cache. Code/Data needs to be transferred by DMA. This approach is different form traditional multi-core CPU's and can be a lot faster, if used the right way.

If you want to code the SPE's, you can use the SDK provided with most linux distributions for the PS3.

Please have a look at:
http://www-01.ibm.com/chips/techlib/tec ... l_v3.0.pdf

[ps3fanboy]

the mars framework from sony makes it also easier to parallelize the code and use the spes.