Nvidia graphics chips perform double duty as CPUs
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(InfoWorld) - Nvidia is promoting the idea that the GPUs it makes can also operate, when needed, as additional CPUs to vastly increase computing power. "[The GPU] is just sitting there, and a lot of people got this great idea, 'Gee, let's do some computing with this,'" said John Nickolls, director of architecture for Nvidia, in a presentation Wednesday at the Microprocessor Forum 2007 in San Jose, California. When it's not performing graphics-related tasks, the GPU can be used in parallel with the CPU, Nickolls said, delivering up to 200 billion FLOPS (floating-point operations per second), a measure of computer performance. Nvidia released a beta version of software called CUDA (for compute unified device architecture) in February. A general release is expected in the second half of this year. CUDA allows software developers to write programs that instruct the GPU to perform some computing functions normally done only by the CPU. Using the GPU as a CPU is not new, said Nickolls, but CUDA should make it easier for software developers to do. CUDA only works on Nvidia's GeForce 8800 and 8600 and the Quadro FX 4600 and 5600 GPUs introduced in November 2006. The GeForce GPU, for example, can act as a coprocessor to the CPU, has its own 16KB memory, and runs more than 128,000 instruction threads in parallel, he said. Groups of threads can also work together to accomplish one task. "People buy GPUs to do graphics, but it's just sitting there in your PC most of the time," said Nickolls. "It's a wonderful high-performance massively parallel computer, so we're trying to open that up a bit." Applications that could run on a GPU used as a CPU include those used in the fields of science, medicine, finance, or other work that depends on high processing power. Nvidia's approach differs from the one touted by AMD Tuesday at Microprocessor Forum. AMD, whichÂ acquired the graphics chip company ATI Technologies in 2006, is in the early stages of development ofÂ a combined CPU/GPU called Fusion, which is due some time in 2009. Fusion is offered more as a cost play, Nickolls said, in order to reduce cost by combining the GPU and CPU rather than to boost performance. The two-day Microprocessor Forum was hosted by the research firm In-Stat.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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The next generation of computer  games sporting more realistic visuals than ever is not yet in  full swing but a range of new graphics chips is letting gamers  beef up their PCs today in anticipation.
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Nvidia Corp  is rolling  out a graphics microchip that will be embedded in the main  collection of components that make up a personal computer, as  the company goes toe to toe with Intel Corp  in the  integrated graphics chip market.
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Whose Ball Grid Array is it anyway? Nvidia has been accused of patent infringement. Minneapolis-based Scanner Technologies claims it owns techniques that the GPU maker uses in the manufacture of ball grid array (BGA) chip-pin layouts without its permission. It said the alleged infringement was "willful and deliberate".â¦
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GPU line's core clock increased Nvidia has extended its family of Quadro FX workstation-class mobile graphics chips and already begun supplying the part - the 3500M - to Dell for the PC giant's Precision M90 notebook, the chip maker said yesterday.â¦
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In addition to what Nvidia has already said itself
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Doubled-up processors were the big news at this year?s Intel Developer Forum. They boost performance without frying your chips ? and are coming your way soon.
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Graphics chipmaker ATI (Quote, Chart) unveiled a new technology it said lets its visual chips share system memory for graphics processing.
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Graphics chip vendor readies the general release of its CUDA software, while extolling the power of general purpose computing on GPUs.
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Nvidia plugs gaping holes in its product range with the new GeForce 7950 GT and 7900GS Nvidia has launched two new versions of its mighty GeForce 7900 graphics chip with the GeForce 7900 GS going on sale immediately and the GeForce 7950 GT hitting the shops on 14th September.â¦
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Nvidia's 'G92' gets a gig to play with Review The headline feature of the Asus EN8800GT 1GB is - as the name suggests - the fact that it packs in 1GB of GDDR 3 memory instead of the 512MB that youâll find on standard GeForce 8800 GT-based graphics cards.â¦
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Wait a couple of quarters, analyst suggests Nvidia is near to launching low-end integrated chipsets for systems based on Intel processors, a US analyst has alleged. However, the company was warned that a near-term release would be "premature" - if Nvidia wants to avoid degrading its gross margins.â¦
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Unified shaders to work on game physic too, it's suggested Nvidia will initially launch two graphics boards based on its next-generation 'G80' GPU when the graphics chip maker brings the product to market in the middle of November, it has been claimed. The boards may also be the first to tout a new physics processing system.â¦
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Blog: In an apparent answer to similar AMD technology, Nvidia is working on a dual-graphics solution it's calling Hybrid SLI.
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The speedy GeForce Go 6800 mobile graphics chip from NVidia helps power high-end, wide-screen notebooks. Plus: new Microsoft accounting software.
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Can Nvidia's top-end single-GPU board cut it? Review Earlier this month, Nvidia announced two new mid-range to high-end GPUs, launching one with immediate availability. The GeForce 7900 GS was well received, doing a passable impression of the more expensive GeForce 7900 GT for less money and at reasonable resolutions. A sweet little product for those with about Â£130-150 to spend, we reckon. The other product was GeForce 7950 GT, set to replace the 7900 GT that the 7900 GS does a sweet job of impersonating.â¦
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SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 12  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NVIDIA(R) Corporation  today announced the GeForce(R) 8700M GT graphics processing unit (GPU) for notebook PCs, a new high-end GPU designed for the most demanding notebook users.