The Raspberry Pi Thread

[sje]

what do you do with such a cluster ?

1) Test chess cluster algorithms inexpensively.

2) Run many tests on slightly different versions of the same program for measuring the effects of search and evaluation changes.

3) Distributed perft() which runs at only about 1 watt per node.

Exactly how much can be done can't be determined until I get one of the boards and see how fast the Broadcom 700 MHz ARM11 is with chess. Obviously, the board won't be as fast as a US$2,500 desktop, but then again you can get 64 of the boards for the price of that desktop.

[AdminX]

i like the idea to build an extremly cheap and primitive computer for the people all over the world that needs only a TV set.

i am sure it will be easy to port a few strong chess programs on it to bring chess into the world too...

The Logitech Revue fits that build already.



http://www.androidcentral.com/logitech- ... g-pleasure

PS: Chess for Android by Aart Bik works on it just fine.

[ZirconiumX]

I think a £130 (at current rates) 8-node 7Ghz Beowulf cluster would be a bargain - if you could get it to communicate...

Matthew:out

[sje]

Bramble cost estimates:

Code: Select all

Raspberry Pi Bramble node components and costs:

1) RP Model B (256 MB RAM, 10/100 Mbps NIC)   $35
2) Wall wart power supply                     $ 5
3) 4 GB Compact Flash card                    $13
4) DIY Cat 5 Ethernet cable                   $ 2
5) One port on a Fast Ethernet switch         $ 7
6) Mounting hardware                          $ 3

Total per node: $65

Bramble ( 2 nodes): $  130 ( 1.4 CHz)
Bramble ( 4 nodes): $  260 ( 2.8 GHz)
Bramble ( 8 nodes): $  520 ( 5.6 GHz)
Bramble (16 nodes): $1,040 (11.2 GHz)
Bramble (32 nodes): $2,080 (22.4 GHz)
Bramble (64 nodes): $4,160 (44.8 GHz)

[sje]

The US$35 Model B Raspberry Pi 700 MHz Linux board has entered production with an initial run of 10,000 units.

The model B pictured above includes 256 MB RAM and a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface. Additional required hardware: an SD card for local storage, a 5 V mini-USB power supply wall wart (can use batteries), and cabling.

Starting at zero theta moving counterclockwise along the periphery: USB 2 port, status LEDs, analog stereo audio output, analog video output, GPIO pin array, SD card port, 5 V DC input, HDMI port, and Ethernet 10/100-base-T port.

No word yet identifying a US distributor.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/201 ... turing.ars

[towforce]

In India, a tablet computer is on offer for $35 (£23) - which is more useful IMHO because, having peripherals (touchscreen) means that it's ready to use out of the box.

. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15180831 .

Certainly puts the price of the iPad 2 to shame!!!

[sje]

In India, a tablet computer is on offer for $35 (£23) - which is more useful IMHO because, having peripherals (touchscreen) means that it's ready to use out of the box.

Yes, but that's a subsidized model. IIRC, its touch screen is old-style resistive (Palm/Newton) vs new-style capacitive (iPhone/iPad). Still, it's a huge advance over pencil and paper.

I expect more than one third party to supply Raspberry Pi machines packaged with cases, battery packs, screens, etc.

A major portion of the value of a Raspberry Pi is that the computer can leverage the free, open source Linux software universe. And living with only 256 MB RAM just might return some much needed discipline to the modern crop of software engineers.

As to performance, I'll guess that the 2012 700 MHz 32 bit Arm RISC Raspberry Pi is about as fast as is my 2002 700 MHz PowerPC 32 bit RISC Apple iBook. Well, as long as floating point isn't used too much on the Pi. And that iBook was a US$1,000 state of the art machine ten years ago when I bought mine, and I still use it today.

[towforce]

In India, a tablet computer is on offer for $35 (£23) - which is more useful IMHO because, having peripherals (touchscreen) means that it's ready to use out of the box.

Yes, but that's a subsidized model...

7" tablet computers seem to start from around $58 (£38) - link. The model at the top of the list for $58 has a clock speed of 800 Mhz and runs Android 2.2, so you'd be able to install Stockfish on it.

[sje]

7" tablet computers seem to start from around $58 (£38) - link. The model at the top of the list for $58 has a clock speed of 800 Mhz and runs Android 2.2, so you'd be able to install Stockfish on it.

I'm certainly impressed regarding the value progression that's been made over the past few years in the handheld domain.

However, having owned several Palm handhelds and an Apple Newton (I've been at this a long time and now have an iPad and an iPod Touch), I can tell you that:

1) After using a capacitive touchscreen, you'll never want to return to using a resistive/stylus screen.

2) After using a relatively high pixel density machine, you'll never want to have to read text on a low density model.

The Raspberry Pi designers have made the decision not to include a display, because any decent display will just cost too much. Instead, the Pi has a hardware driven HDMI that will output 1920x1080 and a new HDTV can be had for under US$200. Also, the Pi can generate analog video and an old CRT TV can be gotten for free with a little scavenging.

With the target audience being school kids, there could be an ulterior motive. Every hour the student is using a Raspberry Pi connected to the family television is one less hour spent watching crappy TV programs or playing mind numbing video games.

[ZirconiumX]

Just a none chess related thought, but Arch Linux does not officially support ARM. So technically someone could cross out Arch Linux.

Which leaves you with Fedora, which is a bit fat, and Debian, which is great, but heavy.

Going to be interesting compiling clang and LLVM on it.

Matthew:out