From: "Rich Gauszka" 


"Adam" <""4thwormcastfromthemolehill\"{at}the
field.near the bridge"> wrote in message
news:460ee727$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> Start here 
>
> Adam

cpu time dilation

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/04/01/cpu_time_dilation/


It's no wonder we need to upgrade our computers on a regular basis. Not
only are chip companies regularly releasing ever-faster microprocessors,
but new research has revealed that modern CPUs actually lose megahertz over
time.

This startling conclusion follows a five-year research programme carried
out by the Illyria University's Information Technology department.

"Five years ago, we activated a dozen new, freshly-purchased
systems," said Computer Science Professor Asteio Artikolos.
"Since then we have measured, on average, a 10-15 per cent reduction
in the machines' clock speeds over that time. It's as if each machine's
stock of megahertz were somehow leaking away.

"Each year, we have added new, faster machines. Not only have these
seen a similar reduction over time in the number of processing cycles
available each second, but the rate of decrease is greater than older,
slower microprocessors."

So far Artikolos and his team have been unable to explain the phenomenon.
One possibility is that the effect is related to the time dilation effect
discovered by Einstein. Any moving body operates on a different temporal
frame of reference than a static one, said Artikolis. As processors are
clocked higher, so their transistors move more quickly, altering their
apparent speed when measured by benchmarkers in a state frame of reference.

"It's certainly the case that many computer users notice a decrease in
performance over time," Artikolos told Register Hardware. "A
machine that seemed incredibly fast on the day of purchase seems torpid
within three years. Traditionally, this was blamed on reduced free hard
drive space and the increased memory requirements of software updates. Our
research suggests a more fundamental problem, one that centres on the very
way modern microprocessors operate."

Artikolos' findings pose an interesting question: where exactly are all
these megahertz ending up? More research, he said, was needed.

Intel was unavailable for comment. AMD, however, claimed to be well aware
of the problem and to be already designing processors capable of working
beyond the limits of Einsteinian mathematics - with a negative temporal
displacement facility built in.

"It's why all our processors appear two years ahead of the other guys'
stuff," a spokesman said

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