how much computers can do in one second

From	RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com>
Newsgroups	comp.misc
Subject	how much computers can do in one second
Date	2017-03-27 14:43 +0300
Organization	solani.org
Message-ID	<8737dzq71j.fsf@therandymon.com> (permalink)

Show all headers | View raw

http://computers-are-fast.github.io/

Interesting website: they provide sample code and you have to guess how
many iterations a computer can complete in a second.  Example:

#include <stdlib.h>

// Number to guess: How many iterations of
// this loop can we go through in a second?

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
    int NUMBER, i, s;
    NUMBER = atoi(argv[1]);

    for (s = i = 0; i < NUMBER; ++i) {
        s += 1;
    }

    return 0;
}

I underestimated all of them.  There's some good, related discussion on
HackerNews at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13960183.  This stood
out in particular:

	
realo 19 hours ago [-]

Yes, modern computers are fast. How fast?

The speed of light is about 300,000 km/s. That translates to roughly 1
ns per foot (yeah, I mix up my units... I'm Canadian...)

THUS, a computer with a clock speed of 2 GHz will be able to execute, on
a single core/thread, about 4 (four !) single-clock instructions between
the moment photons leave your screen, and the moment they arrive into
your eye 2 feet (roughly) later.

_That_ should give you an idea of how fast modern computers really are.

And I _still_ wait quite a bit when starting up Microsoft Word.

Back to comp.misc | Previous | Next — Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

how much computers can do in one second RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2017-03-27 14:43 +0300
  Re: how much computers can do in one second Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-03-27 15:06 +0300
    Re: how much computers can do in one second Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2017-03-29 01:55 +0100
      Re: how much computers can do in one second Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-03-29 10:25 +0300
      Re: how much computers can do in one second Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2017-03-29 08:52 +0100
        Re: how much computers can do in one second Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-03-29 12:43 +0300
          Re: how much computers can do in one second Caecilius <nospam@spamless.invalid> - 2017-03-30 16:07 +0100
            Re: how much computers can do in one second Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-03-30 19:09 +0300
              Re: how much computers can do in one second Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2017-03-30 21:36 +0000
                Re: how much computers can do in one second Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2017-03-31 09:56 +0300
  Re: how much computers can do in one second Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2017-03-27 13:51 +0000
  Re: how much computers can do in one second Sylvia Else <sylvia@not.at.this.address> - 2017-03-28 11:57 +1100
    Re: how much computers can do in one second Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2017-03-28 09:51 +0000
      Re: how much computers can do in one second Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> - 2017-03-28 11:12 +0000

csiph-web