Why use many not-so-powerful processors in parallel?

Answer 1

Don't let their speed in Ghz fool you: each core in a multi-core processor is more powerful than a processor of the previous generation. The motivation for using processors at a lower clock rate and use them in parallel is to 1.) reduce heat and electrical requirements, and 2.) to facilitate better performance for apllications by creating more hardware thread

Answer 2

Performing operations in parallel is often faster than performing them consecutively at a higher rate of speed. If operations can be broken down into parallel operations instead of one large multi-threaded one, you can use slower (and less power-hungry and hot-running) processors to accomplish the same job.

Answer 3

Use multiple processors in parallel to

• Save the time consumed in performing any task
• increase in speed
• increase in reliabiliy (if 1 processor fails system in not fallen down)
• faster throughput and hence less power consumption.