The optimal computational platform for Reverse Time Migration (RTM) has recently become a topic of
significant debate, with proponents of the
Central Processing Unit (CPU), General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU), and Field
Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) all claiming superiority.
The difficulty of comparing these three platforms for RTM performance is that the underlying
architecture
leads to significantly different algorithmic approaches.
The flexibility of the CPU allows for significant algorithmic changes, which
can lead to more than an order of magnitude improvement in performance.
The GPGPU's large number of computational threads and overall memory bandwidth provide
a significant uplift but require a simpler algorithmic approach, requiring more
computation for the same size problem.
The FPGA's streaming programming model results in an attractive but different cost metric.
The current lack of a standardized high-level language is problematic.
![[pdf]](icons/pdf.png){kind=icon}