Alomex,
Obviously I don't know what exactly you're doing with scientific computations, but in fact (as you probably know) many kinds of scientific computation can be accelerated dramatically with AltiVec. In simulations where you perform the same calculation many times on different data sets, you can combine operations with AltiVec. Matrix arithmetic, used in lots of scientific computation, can be sped up by an order of magnitude.
I'm not sure how you could use vectorize search engines, though. There may be some way to set up your indexing file structures just for that, but that might or might not be a net improvement because it might slow down other operations. Search engines really need independent parallel processors. Too bad for you that Apple hasn't released a 16x G5 machine yet, eh?
But don't you agree at least that for most of the common tasks for which ordinary people need speed, (1) AltiVec can accelerate those tasks, and (2) in OS X, those tasks have already been vectorized and accelerated (by Apple, Adobe, Alias|Wavefront, or somebody else)? If you don't agree, can you think of any? Common tasks, that is? The kind that millions of computer buyers would need?
Dave |
