GPU programming
GPU is short for Graphical Processing Unit, or, just a graphics card inside your PC. High-end cards cost about a price of the PC, take twice the power and execute hundreds of commands in parallel.
Performance. Modern GPUs have about 20-50 times more mathematical computing power than modern CPUs. Memory throughput is about 3-20 times of the CPU. For some applications it means 100 times of win, for some only few times. Usual Fortran code for physics simulation, while scanning arrays, performs with 1-5GFlops at 10-50GFlops CPU, due to memory speed.
Weather forecast
I am running, mostly for fun a weather forecast system for Baltic states.
People often ask where this comes from and how can I do it.
The answer is:
1. Data comes from US as a coarse grid data, about 12 or 27km step.
2. Program for physics simulation (WRF) comes from US
3. I am just running it to get much finer step - about 1 to 1.5km , adapted to local map
4. Another program, RASP, comes from a meteorologist and a glider pilot in US, Dr Jack. It shows the data in many useful ways for glider pilots.
Take a look at: http://parool.ee/ilm/EESTID/
