RE: [Discuss-gnuradio] Intel Atom is NICE.

[Bob McGwier]

The intel graphics chip set and northbridge are power hungry.  I think the idea 
is optimize code for the 330 and not the peripherals with this inexpensive and 
easy to use Mobo.  The disk drive is hungry as well.

The Intel ATOM Z500 family are mobile processors that have the same SIMD 
registers,  support LCD,  good GigE support, and the potential wart (POTENTIAL) 
is the 100 or 133 MHz FSB.

http://www.axiomtek.com.tw/Products/ViewProduct.asp?view=680#3


The Virginia Tech Mobile (SDR/CR) groups are looking at these (largest SDR/CR 
department in the world I think).

I think we want to optimize SIMD code and see what we can get running on these 
prepackaged, easy to get up and running systems as well as the SoC parts such 
as that family of TI OMAP parts carried on the Beagleboard.

One does NOT need to spend thousands of dollars on an SDR computer for most 
operations.   That is a convenient excuse for me to justify my computer budget 
for "development" and get high end things to play with (so I can kill aliens 
from another galaxy or FSU laboratory with impressive graphics in my "spare 
time").  But most people need to really justify the need for the high end 
computer in my mind and they cannot.  That is my point in all of this.

SDR wants to be on consumer/commodity level processors and SoC to be in 
everyone's "coffee budget" and taken for granted in the ideal world in my book. 
 There seems to be little gained by optimizing this for Quad core extreme 
processors with massive GPU's sitting on them,  tons of expensive high speed 
memory, and the world's fastest drives and costing well upwards of $1000 US.  
Lightweight,  easy to distribute, with browser level GUI's and distributed 
everything on inexpensive processors and we rule the world.  You can call me 
Dr. No. and SDR Working group chairman stands for SPECTRE DUMB RESEARCH working 
group. 

Cheers,
Bob


ARRL SDR Working Group Chair
Member: ARRL, AMSAT, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats,
NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC.
"And yes I said, yes I will Yes", Molly Bloom


-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel O'Connor [mailto:address@hidden 
Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 6:12 PM
To: address@hidden
Cc: Bob McGwier; address@hidden; address@hidden; address@hidden
Subject: Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] Intel Atom is NICE.

On Monday 29 December 2008 06:53:30 Bob McGwier wrote:
> I am running GnuRadio, SDRMAX, and  PowerSDR on my new Intel ATOM 330 
> MiniITX motherboard.  I had to put a firewire card in the single PCI slot.
> The integrated intel graphics are nice and spiffy (glxgears is at 800 
> fps if you turn off the desktop enhancements, no wiggly windows please).
>
>
>
> At 96000 PowerSDR is running under 15% CPU.  The ATOM burns EIGHT 
> watts and has dual hyperthread cores  (shows up as four processors in task 
> manager).

Unfortunately the 945 chipset eats ~20W - god knows why Intel lumbered the Atom 
with it :(

Toms Hardware (and others) did a test of the Atom vs an underclocked Athlon and 
the later won most of the tests

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/Atom-Athlon-Efficient,1997-1.html

I think the Atom combo is cheaper and smaller though :)

--
Daniel O'Connor software and network engineer for Genesis Software - 
http://www.gsoft.com.au "The nice thing about standards is that there are so 
many of them to choose from."
  -- Andrew Tanenbaum
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