[comp.sys.apollo] fpa accelerator runs slower

dbfunk@ICAEN.UIOWA.EDU (David B. Funk) (03/23/89)

We have a researcher who bought a DN3500 to run some chromatography modeling
and analysis programs. These are computationaly intensive programs that he
was running on a VAX and he wanted something faster. Our Apollo salesman
sold him a DN3500 with a Weitek FPA. After doing some tests we found that
his primary program runs twice as fast if he does NOT use the FPA. I ran
diagnostics, the FPA works. It speeds up our benchmark programs but it
slows down his. I am at a loss as to how to explain to this guy that his
$2000 accelerator is slowing him down. Has anybody seen anything like this?
Any ideas as to how to improve things?

Here is some data from a small test case:

OS: sr9.7.2; ftn revision 9.95
compiled with: -opt 4 -cpu 3000
program run cpu time: 32.157.  real time: 36.084.
compiled with: -opt 4 -cpu fpa1
program run cpu time: 61.558.  real time: 65.949.

OS: sr10.1; ftn Rev 10.6(46)
compiled with: -opt 3 -cpu 3000
program run cpu time: 30.418.  real time: 33.276.
compiled with: -opt 3 -cpu fpa1
program run cpu time: 59.928.  real time: 63.784.

Dave Funk