Information

X-bit Labs for mobile users! Do not forget that we are running a special version of X-bit Labs web-site for users of mobile and handheld devices: http://pda.xbitlabs.com. Check out our news and articles from smartphones and PDAs to be always updated on the latest computer and technology news.

Video

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra Outperforms Intel Pentium 4 10GHz?

Do Something Useful with Your GPU...

Category: Video

by Anton Shilov

[ 12/22/2003 | 07:54 AM ]

Modern graphics processors contain tens of millions transistors, while high-end graphics cards cost up to $500 nowadays. The only thing such expensive products can do is render 3D games providing entertainment and relaxation to end-users. Some think that the muscles of today’s GPUs can be used more wisely and they seem to be right – theoretical power of visual processing units is far beyond the fastest CPUs these days. Seems like there is a way to adopt GPU for general purpose task!

<%BANNER[article_nw]%>

A group of developers from Stanford University released their BrookGPU – a compiler and runtime system that provides an easy, C-like programming environment for today’s GPUs. According to this report from Slashdot, a shader program running on the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra GPU achieves over 20GFLOPS, roughly equivalent to a 10GHz Intel Pentium 4. A real powerhouse that is available now, has some issues with programming, as GPU programming is not a trivial task. BrookGPU adds simple data parallel language additions to C which allow programmers to specify certain parts of their code to run on the GPU. The compiler and runtime takes care of the rest. To obtain more information on the matter, turn to this or this page.

This is probably not the first experience with trying to utilize graphics processors for general-purpose tasks. In the past there were quite a lot of initiatives of this kind, but none of them appeared to be popular or useful.

In general, for a few years now there has been a confrontation underway between GPU and CPU developers. The former bring more and more brute computing power and may serve as CPU for certain tasks, the latter provide us some more techniques for creating high-quality 3D graphics in real-time. Moreover, some CPU makers, such as Intel Corporation, attack GPU companies by offering inexpensive chipsets with integrated graphics core. More than a half of graphics solutions in the market are integrated into chipsets at this time, according to market researchers.

Discussion

Comments currently: 1
Discussion started: 03/05/04
View comments

Add your Comment

Name/Nickname
Your Comments
 

News Archive

Video

December, 2003
 1234
5
6
7
8
9
101112
13
14
15
161718
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
   
 
< November, 2003 January, 2004 >
 

Latest News

Thursday, May 15, 2008

11:21 am | Other AMD’s Plans to Build Fab in New York Are “Moving Along”. AMD Still Intends to Build a Fab in the USA

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

11:11 pm | Storage DVD Will Remain Primary Optical Storage Media on PC Market Till 2012 – IDC. Analysts Expect DVD to Dominate in PC Space Till 2012, Despite of Blu-Ray Ramp

5:41 pm | Mobile OCZ Offers Enthusiasts “Do-It-Yourself” Notebooks. OCZ to Allow Gamers to Build Their Own Laptops

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

11:46 pm | Other Dell Denies Abandon of XPS Gaming PC Brand. Dell Plans to Invest “Like Crazy” into Alienware, but Leave XPS in Place

10:25 pm | Mobile MSI’s Wind Set to Start Blowing in June, Specifications Transpire. MSI Preps to Launch “Wind” Laptops in June

4:25 pm | CPU Nvidia Has No Plans to Take Over Via Technologies, Says Chief Exec. Nvidia Denies Intentions to Buy Via Technologies – CEO

11:34 am | Other HP Acquires Electronic Data Systems Service Company. HP Takes Over EDS for $13.9 Billion to Boost IT Service Business

 
News Archive