Modern Microprocessors – A 90-Minute Guide • Hacker News Board

Re: Modern Microprocessors – A 90-Minute Guide

#21

Post by hephaes7us » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 5:48 PM UTC

MarkusQ wrote: post #20

I'm still waiting for the update that explains why, after going from clock speed to FLOPS, etc. (which I understood) we suddenly started measuring processing power in GW. It makes as much sense as measuring automotive motors in decibels.

Speaking in terms of GW makes sense when we are discussing performance of an individual datacenter since power is, kind of, the limiting factor.

Also, FLOPs per watt hasn't changed as much lately, so thinking in terms of watts over a few-year time horizon does at least give you a ballpark of how many FLOPs.

If you're talking about a chip, you obviously want to know about FLOPs moreso, but, even down to the level of individual rack-units, wattage is a serious concern. Not every facility is built for these crazy 200kW racks.

Re: Modern Microprocessors – A 90-Minute Guide

#22

Post by MarkusQ » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 7:04 PM UTC

hephaes7us wrote: post #21

MarkusQ wrote: post #20

I'm still waiting for the update that explains why, after going from clock speed to FLOPS, etc. (which I understood) we suddenly started measuring processing power in GW. It makes as much sense as measuring automotive motors in decibels.

Speaking in terms of GW makes sense when we are discussing performance of an individual datacenter since power is, kind of, the limiting factor. Also, FLOPs per watt hasn't changed as much lately, so thinking in terms of watts over a few-year time horizon does at least give you a ballpark of how many FLOPs. If you're talking about a chip, you obviously want to know about FLOPs moreso, but, even down to the level of i…

Yeah, I get that. But using something that should be on the "costs" side of the ledger as your metric still seems fraught. It feels like another LOC trap.

Re: Modern Microprocessors – A 90-Minute Guide

#23

Post by recursive » Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 9:42 PM UTC

Pay08 wrote: post #13

kkkqkqkqkqlqlql wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still has a gigantic blocking ad on mobile

Who isn't using an adblocker these days?

If everyone's using an adblocker, then why are ads that no one is seeing being served?

Re: Modern Microprocessors – A 90-Minute Guide

#24

Post by hashtag-til » Fri, Apr 17, 2026, 8:32 AM UTC

AtlasBarfed wrote: post #7

hashtag-til wrote: post #3

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