Introduction to Mastering Cell BE and GPU Execution Platforms

Abstract

Both Cell BE-type and GPU processors have emerged as multi-processor execution platforms that can outperform general purpose multi-core computers in certain application domains. The two architectures are quite different, and by no means interchangeable. GPUs are reminiscent of fine-grained systolic array architectures, while the Cell BE is suitable to execute a set of co-ordinated coarse-grained tasks. By now, enough applications have been mapped on either of these two processors, mostly by hand, that the pros and cons tables can be filled. The next step is to provide mappings that are based on efficient programming models and methods, in particular methods that minimize communication overheads. The six papers in this special session are attempts to take precisely that route. Three of them are taking the GPU as the underlying execution platform, the third taking also the Cell-BE multicore processor into consideration. The other three papers are targetting the Cell-BE processor.