Random number generating CPU

[Vinvin]

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/blo ... -generator

Great news : "Krishnamurthy reckons that the circuit can chuck up 2.4 billion numbers a second, approximately 200 times quicker than any alternative."

[jshriver]

Interesting, though it does lack a bit of technical data. It mentions CPU often so I'm wondering if this is not another chipset, but something that will get added to all of their upcoming x86 cpu's (perhaps a random generation specific instruction set?)

Then again it mentions creating a 45nm version, so that suggest it's being made outside of the CPU cores.

Will be interesting to follow.

[rbarreira]

Then again it mentions creating a 45nm version, so that suggest it's being made outside of the CPU cores.

Not necessarily, since this circuit is not in released CPUs yet. They could easily mean that they have implemented it on a > 45 nm test CPU, and just haven't yet made it compatible with their released CPUs.

2.4 billion number per second looks suspiciously similar to a CPU clock rate (2.4 GHz), in this respect it suggests that it is indeed something very close to the CPU core.

[Dan Andersson]

Pft not even a new feature on x86 CPUs by a long shot. VIA Padlock has been available for what in computer terms is geological ages. Its a good idea to have it on die.

MvH Dan Andersson

[AlvaroBegue]

Pft not even a new feature on x86 CPUs by a long shot. VIA Padlock has been available for what in computer terms is geological ages. Its a good idea to have it on die.

Capable of creating random numbers at rates of between 800K to 1600K bits per second, the VIA PadLock RNG addresses the needs of security applications requiring high bit rates that algorithmically increases the quality (randomness) of the entropy produced, for example by applying hashing algorithms to the output.

As you see, it's several orders of magnitude slower than Intel's new thing.

[Dan Andersson]

VIA lags Intel badly when it comes to silicon process technology as well as the fact that it is over half a decade old commercially available technology made to be power efficient. Remember the absolute speed of the function is of almost no importance for most applications due to Amdahl's Law.

MvH Dan Andersson