[Bf-committers] Parallel Blender

[Knapp]

I was reading these other posts about where Blender might go and just
wanted to add my thoughts. Naturally this is just IMOHO. And I know
blender is taking steps in this direction.

Parallel is where it is at.

I am sure most of you know this but I just wanted to highlight the
total importance of it and make sure it is in front of everyones face.
This is not something to put off, as I see it.

Computers are very quickly going parallel. Just a few years ago my
computer had one CPU and the GPU was not much to look at. My current
computer has 2 CPUs and a GPU that is old and out of date but still
very very fast. My next computer will likely have 6 CPUs on a chip and
if all goes well 2 of these chips for a cost of about 400 USD and 2
graphics cards with high end GPUs that work together, this will happen
this year! Can Blender make the most of this?

Just like everything computer, the number of CPUs will likely double
about every 12 to 18 months. This means that many of our users will be
running computers with over 4 CPUs by the time 2.5 is released. Just 2
years latter, I would not be surprised if most users had 12 CPUs. Two
years after that many top end users might be running systems with 48
CPUs and god only knows what the GPUs and physics systems will look
like. Blender should be able to eat that stuff up with ease to stay in
the lead.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in 4 years time most users will
likely be expecting everything to be 3d (as in Avatar). That seems to
be the big push in the industry right now both in movies, HDTV and in
gaming.

Making blender take advantage of this in every way possible is a must
and something that, IMOHO, everyone should be being worked on very
hard right now. As I understand it, Python is currently the biggest
problem.

Thanks for reading my little rant. I look forward to hearing others
thoughts on this.

Best,

Douglas E Knapp

Massagen Arbeit in Gelsenkirchen Buer
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