I haven't seen the specs on the PS2, but what makes you think it will
outperform an Origin2000?

dave

"David R. Stone" wrote:
> 
> hello all,
> 
> a group of 23 members (a subset of the beowulf list at NASA) have joined
> in an effort to build the first plug n' play[tm] beowulf class
> supercomputer. we are going to use the next generation playstation 2 due
> out in spring 2000 as our base platform. most of us will be working on
> the kernel hacks, ethernet over ieee1394, app porting etc.
> 
> so. would you be interested in soon being able to build a scaleable
> parallel
> cluster that can render povray faster than an sgi origin2000 for about
> US$299 per node ? i thought you might :-)
> 
> we need help and have recruited some of the best in their field. we
> would be so grateful if someone could work on a sophisticated image for
> us. this is a non-profit (i.e. no cash) project but the intellectual
> property will remain the artists.
> 
> please let me know via email if anyone is interested. we envisage
> something like tux penguins weilding playstations chasing wolves in an
> antarctic type scene.
> 
> btw. it MUST be done under linux/unix
> 
> --
> regards
> david r. stone
> sto### [at] powernethkcom

-- 
David Tucker
dav### [at] altatechcom
http://www.altatech.com/

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On Wed, 15 Sep 1999 13:37:26 -0600, dav### [at] altatechcom wrote:
>I haven't seen the specs on the PS2, but what makes you think it will
>outperform an Origin2000?

Notice that it doesn't say how many nodes you'll need to pull that off. :)

>> so. would you be interested in soon being able to build a scaleable
>> parallel
>> cluster that can render povray faster than an sgi origin2000 for about
>> US$299 per node ? i thought you might :-)

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>I haven't seen the specs on the PS2, but what makes you think it will
>outperform an Origin2000?

I have seen a PlayStation 2 in action. Imagine real-time Toy Story quality
graphics. That's how I know this thing is going to be HUGE. This project
MUST go ahead for the benefit of the entire graphics community. I wish I
were a part of it. If only my uncle Joe still worked at NASA, maybe he could
sneak me in to have a looksee. Good luck, guys! Rock on!!!

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Do we really need to go over the differences between ray tracing (POV)
and gouraud shading (Playstation)?  This won't work for the same reason
your whoopdy-doo high priced graphics card doesn't help pov one bit. 
What I would like to see, is the floating point performance of the PS2.

dave

TonyB wrote:
> 
> >I haven't seen the specs on the PS2, but what makes you think it will
> >outperform an Origin2000?
> 
> I have seen a PlayStation 2 in action. Imagine real-time Toy Story quality
> graphics. That's how I know this thing is going to be HUGE. This project
> MUST go ahead for the benefit of the entire graphics community. I wish I
> were a part of it. If only my uncle Joe still worked at NASA, maybe he could
> sneak me in to have a looksee. Good luck, guys! Rock on!!!

-- 
David Tucker
dav### [at] altatechcom
http://www.altatech.com/

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dear all,

originally i posted here for some help with artistic design not to have
to respond to technical naysayers. the answer is 6.2 GFLOPS - the other
specs are below.

is anyone willing to help us create a demo image ? 

-- 
regards
david r. stone
sto### [at] powernethkcom



dav### [at] altatechcom wrote:
> 
> Do we really need to go over the differences between ray tracing (POV)
> and gouraud shading (Playstation)?  This won't work for the same reason
> your whoopdy-doo high priced graphics card doesn't help pov one bit.
> What I would like to see, is the floating point performance of the PS2.
> 

CPU:
   * 128 Bit "Emotion Engine"
   * System Clock Frequency: 300 MHz
   * Cache Memory Instruction: 16KB, Data: 8KB + 16KB (ScrP)
   * Main Memory Direct
   * Rambus (Direct RDRAM) Memory Size: 32MB
   * Memory Bus Bandwidth: 3.2GB per Second
   * Co-Processor FPU (Floating Point Unit)
   * Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 1,
   * Floating Point Divider x 1
   * Vector Units VU0 and VU1
   * Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 9,
   * Floating Point Divider x 3
   * Floating Point Performance: 6.2 GFLOPS
   * 3D CG Geometric Transformation:
   * 66 Million Polygons per Second
   * Compressed Image Decoder
   * MPEG2 Graphics:
   * "Graphics Synthesizer"
   * Clock Frequency: 150MHz
   * DRAM Bus bandwidth:
   * 48GB per Second
   * DRAM Bus width: 2560bits
   * Pixel Configuration: RGB:Alpha:Z Buffer (24:8:32)
   * Maximum Polygon Rate: 75 Million Polygons per Second
                                           
Sound:
   * "SPU2+CPU"
   * Number of Voices ADPCM: 48 channels on SPU2, plus definable,
     software programmable voices programmable voices
   * Sampling Frequency: 44.1 KHz or 48 KHz (Selectable IOP:
   * I/O Processor
   * CPU: Core PlayStation (current) CPU
   * Clock Frequency: 33.9MHz or 37.5MHz (Selectable)
   * Sub Bus: 32 Bit
   * Interface Types: IEEE1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB),
     Commmunication via PC-Card (PCMCIA) 

Disc Device:
   * CD-ROM and DVD-ROM

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On Tue, 14 Sep 1999 09:03:52 +0000, David R. Stone wrote:
>please let me know via email if anyone is interested. we envisage
>something like tux penguins weilding playstations chasing wolves in an
>antarctic type scene.

I think it's an interesting project, and if I had the time I'd be
happy to offer my services, such as they are.  Unfortunately, I'm
somewhat overcommitted already, as everyone here knows.

I wonder if penguins chasing wolves is an appropriate image, though.
It seems that the project is a combination of penguin+wolf+playstation,
not an adversarial relationship with a wolf.  Perhaps an image of Tux
riding or otherwise working with a wolf or wolfpack while wielding a 
playstation would be more apropos.  Then, of course, you need an enemy
for them to pursue.  Too bad SGI/Cray doesn't have a cute mascot. :)

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Ron Parker wrote:
> 
> On Tue, 14 Sep 1999 09:03:52 +0000, David R. Stone wrote:
> >please let me know via email if anyone is interested. we envisage
> >something like tux penguins weilding playstations chasing wolves in an
> >antarctic type scene.
> 
> I think it's an interesting project, and if I had the time I'd be
> happy to offer my services, such as they are.  Unfortunately, I'm
> somewhat overcommitted already, as everyone here knows.
> 
> I wonder if penguins chasing wolves is an appropriate image, though.
> It seems that the project is a combination of penguin+wolf+playstation,
> not an adversarial relationship with a wolf.  Perhaps an image of Tux
> riding or otherwise working with a wolf or wolfpack while wielding a
> playstation would be more apropos.  Then, of course, you need an enemy
> for them to pursue.  Too bad SGI/Cray doesn't have a cute mascot. :)

How about such an implementation:
A rope-pulling contest, wolfs and penguins on one side,
SGI/Cray-logos-like creatures on the other side (run
MS Word and look at the Assistent creature to see what
I mean). The penguins (always 1 penguin between 2 wolfs) 
would be pulling (or pretending to pull) with only one 
hand, wielding a playstation with the remaining one. 
Some penguins could even only embrace the rope, wielding 
their playstations with both hands, but pretending to pull, 
of course.

The wolfs should express powerful working animals, bent
backwards as pulling, perhaps looking up, and should
look dangerous; while the penguins should look friendly, 
with their silly smile, some bent backwards, some perhaps 
not, all penguins' eyes looking down, fully concentrating
on their screens. The SGI/Cray-logos-like creatures should 
be also working *very* hard... But - yes, you guessed - 
the other side is stronger. The poor SGI/Cray-logos-like 
creatures should therefore be bent forwards, almost 
falling (some even falling).

Of course, there should be a touch of humour in it.
Sorry, I'm not good in modeling, not even in drawing
- otherwise I would send a sketch. This could be
a still image as well as an animation.

I have nothing against SGIs/Crays and hope that the 
scenario I describe here is not too offensive...

	y.

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>Ron Parker wrote:
>>
>> Doesn't it bother anyone that wolves and reindeer are Arctic while
>> penguins are Antarctic?



Ummm -- It is perfectly obvious that they were in a zoo in the other side of
the world, and broke out.  The only question is -- which one is the 'they?'

Hmmm...

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