computer-go: Computer Go hardware

[Compgo123@xxxxxxx]

No matter how you look at it, a significantly improved hardware is essential 
for the computer playing to reach a high level (temperorily disregard the 
fact that the jury for a magic formula is still out). I don't want to argue 
whether an improved hardware will help. For those who claim it doesn't, 
please point out what will.

PC cpu is now running at about 1 GHz. Intel is planning to introduce a 10 GHz 
cpu in next 5 to 10 years. Dual cpu motherboards are readily available. One 
question is to what extent is the computer being efficiently used at present? 
That is how far today's best program is from what is possible (for a given 
computing time scale). We may define a concept, calling it the 'logic 
efficiency index'. For a best possible program, the index value is 1. I'll 
make a wild quess here. Today's best program has an index value about 0.7. A 
related question is, for Go, what's the relation between the index value and 
the amount of programming? Linear or nonlinear? One deduction can be drawn 
that it does not require an infinite amount of programming to reach an index 
value of 1.  Because infinite amount of programming will results in an 
infinite computing time. Here we may define another concept, calling it the 
'composite logic efficiency index'. That is for a specified amount of 
programming, how far it is from what is best possible. One improtant question 
is, given today's computing technology, what's the relation between the index 
value and the playing level? Again, linear or nonlinear? What level does the 
index value 1 correspond to?  

In the field of telecommunications, the technology has reached 100 Gbps and 
pushing towards 200 Gbps. In reference of these numbers, a 200 GHz cpu maybe 
forseeable (by your son or grand son). The speed of cpu is not the only 
problem. The bus and memory speed is already having a bottleneck effect. The 
field of  telecommunications can teach us many things. Probably an optical 
bus is the way to go. The technology is already there. Then how to solve the 
memory speed problem? There is one possible direction. I don't know how to 
say it and let me just quote from Scott Scully ' The memory is the 
computing.' Tell the truth I don't know what it means. But there is something 
vaguely there.

Now let's go back to our generation. The spread of technology made it a real 
possibility to build a computer Go hardware. FPGA has been given considerable 
considerations due to it's versatility. However, they are high price and low 
performance compared to PC cpus. The performance is about a factor of 5 lower 
and the price is about a factor of 5 higher. But they still can be used as a 
starting point or a proof of concept. There is one technical problem using 
existing FPGAs. That is the difficult to route. A Go board has 361 positions. 
It means one need to route 361 connection around. It can be done. But the 
FPGAs are not designed for this and it would soon exhaust huge gate resources 
and great complexicity. I think one way to reduce this problem is to use many 
small FPGAs instead of a single big one. Another approach worth pursuing is 
to connect many cpus together. Not for parallel processing in the 
conventional sense. Instead connect them in a certain topological way.

Dan Liu