computing power
The computing power of processors, graphics process ors and computers is the performance that they execute in a certain time. There are various units of measurement in which the computing power is specified. The determination of the characteristic values and the different units of measurement clarify the complexity, since the different units of measurement presuppose different basic conditions and certain instructions accelerate repetitive computing operations.
Many units of measurement for processors refer to the number of computing operations in a certain time or to a clock signal. Thus the number of instructions per time, Instructions per Second( IPS) or Million Instructions per Second( MIPS), to the instructions per clock pulse, Instructions per Cycle( IPC), or as reciprocal value of the clock pulses per instruction, Cycles per Instruction( CPI).
The evaluation of the computing power of computers
The evaluation of the computing power of computers is based on the number of operations within one second, which are specified in Million Operations per Second( MOPS). Generally, however, more complex operations are considered and the associated number at a certain result representation, namely that of the floating point operation. The corresponding unit of measurement for computing power is floating point operations per second, or FLOPS. The unit FLOPS means that the computer can execute so and so many floating point operations within one second. The basic unit is prefixed and then stands for millions, (megaflops), billions (gigaflops), trillions (teraflops) and even quadrillions (petaflops) of floating point operations per second.
Further evaluation criteria
The FLOPS specification also proves to be of little help for certain components, since many computers work with integers( integer), logical operations or special commands. Since the aforementioned units of measurement for computing power are only applicable to a limited extent, benchmarks are also used to evaluate the computing power of computers, i.e. comparative tests under specified framework conditions. The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation( SPEC) has specified corresponding benchmarks for central processing units( CPU), virtual machines and special applications. The Whetstone test and Dhrystone test belong to the rather rarely referenced benchmarks.