Techo Rama

Intel has already launched Core Duo processors and will launch quad-core processors some time in the next year. But are we really prepared to take up the challenges these super fast machines will provide us with…? Dual-core processors before Kentsfield which is a Quad-Core processor from Intel, were not quite showing their power in gaming as for the best performance such systems will need multi-threaded applications and games. Game developer Valve has announced a new game with multi-threading capability. Its new game ‘pre Half-Life 2 Episode 2′ will be released in the first half of 2007 and they are also planning to upgrade their older games. With multi-threading capability games will feature greater frame rates and better graphics, which can never be made available for single and dual core processors. The game developer has said that the Kentsfield has roughly eight times the computing power as compared to a single core processor. Artificial intelligence is also the main area targeted by the programmers as the quad-core processors simulate the behavior of 500 independent critters. But the programming for such machines will be difficult than ever. Programmers have to design software that takes advantage of these multi-core processors and have to achive parallel programming which is extremely difficult. Researchers are developing a new programming framework that can ease the task of Parallel programming. But even if the framework works up to expectations then also the programmers have to adopt programming practices that uses the processor potential to the maximum without causing deadlocks. If deadlocks are frequently occurring then the system can eventually crash. Currently programmers’ program applications, which share the processor on time slice basis but the involvement of multi-core processors, make it extremely difficult to set the threads use a specified core for a specified period.