NVIDIA nTeresting: 22 February 2010

In this Issue:

• Optimus-enabled notebooks-the next big thing for sure
• "Programming Massively Parallel Processors: A Hands-on Approach" gets a 5-star review
• Acer aces first 2nd generation ION-powered netbook
• Making the impossible, possible: Quadro FX-powered desktop workstations for under $600
• NVIDIAns swooshing down Squaw Valley slopes to raise $$$ to fight MS (hint-it's not Microsoft)

Notebook Manufacturers Humming U2's Classic "I Will Follow"

NVIDIA OptimusTM technology is a breakthrough technology for notebook PCs that chooses the best graphics processor for running a given application, and automatically routes the workload to either an NVIDIA discrete GPU or Intel integrated graphics-all while delivering great performance and providing great battery life-and the hits just keep on coming.

Clearly NVIDIA has a breakthrough technology on its hands-soon to be in your hands-but hey, don't just take our word for it-check out these comments from top tech pundits:

"...Optimus is by far the best switchable graphics solution I've seen." -Tech Report

"There is a simple elegance here that NVIDIA has enabled with Optimus and it's the way it should have been done a long time ago quite frankly. " -Hot Hardware

"We are excited about Optimus. Switchable graphics solutions will finally grow up and offer to end customers in all laptop classes distinct advantages."-notebookcheck

"From what we have seen, it works, and works well, and should sound the death-knell to previous iterations of Switchable Graphics." -Hexus

"So we say again: no NVIDIA-based laptop going forward should ship without Optimus. In fact, if a manufacturer has a design in the works that's almost ready for market and it uses an NVIDIA discrete GPU without Optimus, please do us a favor and rework the product." -Anandtech

"Honestly, we're so thrilled with Nvidia's Optimus that we hope all notebooks with switchable graphics work like this before the end of the year." -Notebookreviews

"...we're hoping we see a lot more of Optimus from every laptop vendor real soon."-Engadget

"...once more NVIDIA has put their competition in a tough situation. They did this with the Verde notebook driver program, and now just when AMD looks like they're catching up - DirectX 11 and switchable graphics are starting to appear in a few laptops, and AMD is set to announce their own mobile driver program - NVIDIA goes and raises the bar." -Anandtech

"ATI/AMD will have to follow. [NVIDIA] takes the initiative and with the Tegra mobile platform, ION, and now Optimus, the graphics chip manufacturer will be exciting to follow." - Nordic Hardware

"It's remarkably effective in its simplicity; users will no longer accidentally leave their notebooks in discrete graphics mode, sapping precious battery life." -Laptop Magazine

"We've always thought switchable graphics made a lot of sense on laptops, and NVIDIA's new Optimus tech looks like it's going to bring it mainstream in a serious way -- there's no more manually toggling between the powerful discrete GPU and the power-saving integrated chip." -Engadget

Highly Recommended-Book Co-Authored By NVIDIA Is a Great Way to Learn CUDA

"Programming Massively Parallel Processors: A Hands-on Approach," co-authored by Dr. David B. Kirk, an NVIDIA Fellow and former chief scientist, and Dr. Wen-mei Hwu, who serves at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Coordinated Science Laboratory, co-director of the Universal Parallel Computing Research Center and principal investigator of the CUDA Center of Excellence, published this first textbook of its kind on January 28th. If early indications are anything, it could be on its way to selling a lot of copies.

Here are some early comments:

"...this book is the best reference I've found for learning parallel programming "the CUDA way". Many of the concepts will carry over to other approaches (OpenMP, MPI, etc.), but this is by and large a CUDA book. Highly recommended."

The textbook is the first aimed at teaching advanced students and professionals the basic concepts of parallel programming and GPU architectures. Published by Morgan Kaufmann, it explores various techniques for constructing parallel programs and reviews numerous case studies.

Next-Generation ION is Coming Soon!

In case you missed it, Acer previewed the world's first Next-generation ION netbook this week at Mobile World Congress. Check out our blog post for more details.

Next-generation ION is a discrete GPU with dedicated memory attached to an Intel Atom "Pine Trail" CPU. The new ION GPU will once again deliver a premium netbook and nettop experience for games, streaming video, and media conversion. Thanks to NVIDIA Optimus technology, next-generation ION netbooks will provide up to 10 hours of battery life, so you can have great mobility and great performance when you need it.

Watch for more news about the new ION GPU and upcoming designs in early March!

A Desktop Workstation with Quadro FX Pro Graphics for <$600?! Yep

Targeted at digital content creators and CAD professionals, Lenovo has announced their new E20 desktop workstation, featuring NVIDIA Quadro FX discrete professional graphics, up to the Quadro FX 1800.

"We've found there are a number of CAD and DCC professionals who are currently getting by on desktop PC hardware due to budget constraints," said Mark Cohen, vice president, Enterprise Products, Lenovo. "They're running workstation-class applications and could benefit from using true workstation hardware. We designed the ThinkStation E20 with these users in mind to put true workstation performance within their reach and enable them to realize significant productivity gains associated with using the right tool for the job."

Offering options like our Quadro FX 1800 discrete pro graphics, we couldn't agree more.

Help NVIDIA Help Beat Multiple Sclerosis-Vertical Express Ski Challenge

Hey, who needs the Winter Olympics?! For the first time, NVIDIA is going to be represented in the Vertical Express Ski Challenge on March 6th and 7th at Squaw Valley USA (CA) by two outstanding ski teams. We've recruited our best skiers and snowboarders in order to tame a challenging ski course and show the competition that NVIDIANs excel in everything they pursue. Our NVIDIA teams will be racing to help fight MS, while also filming their runs in 3D. We will be mounting 3D stereoscopic head cameras on our racers so we can create some amazing 3D content from a first person skiing perspective-and yes, we'll fully document any wipe outs! Support Green Green Team 1 and/or Green Team 2.

This event is inspired by former Olympic skier Jimmie Heuga, who passed away peacefully on February 8th. Learn more about Jimmy's remarkable "Can Do" life story, and the fight he's led to beat MS, which lives on.