NVIDIA nTeresting News: 14-May-2010

In this Issue

• The scientific community is using the massively parallel architecture of the graphics processing unit to get huge performance gains for meaningful work.
• 3D is hot. 3D games will take 3D to the next level.
• EVGA shows you how PhysX makes games better.
• Sure the GeForce GTX 480 is break world records, but the GeForce GTX 470 refuses to take a back seat to it's bigger brother.
• Clinton Mallory is nipping at TAP's heels for the Supersonic Sled world record.

More Cores = More Better

GPUs used to be just for games. Not anymore. More and more the power of the GPU is being used for things other than graphics, and the scientific community is leading the way.

"As we look at how to get the next 1000 times faster, to an exaflops, or 1018 calculations per second, we see a lot of big challenges," says Buddy Bland, a project director at Oak Ridge.
He says that the lab already uses clusters of GPUs for some number-crunching computing tasks such as climate modelling and simulations of supernovas. He says that increased precision and speed, along with reduced power consumption, make the cards an attractive option for the next generation of supercomputers. "We think this is one path to getting the higher-performance computing that we need."

GPU Computing is the use of the massively parallel architecture of the graphics processing unit (GPU) as a computational engine using high level languages and APIs. CPUs are no longer increasing in clock speed yet applications are demanding more from PCs today than ever before. The only path available is to go multi-core or parallel - ie: add more cores and split demanding workloads across them. Due to the very nature of computer graphics, GPUs excel at doing many things at once and as such are ideally suited to this new computing environment. What GPU's bring is a massively parallel approach to the problem with 100's of cores.

Games are the Killer App for 3D

3D is all the rage with 3DTVs and 3D movies being the talk of Tinsletown.

"At GDC Canada this week, Microsoft's Habib Zargarpour suggested that the success of stereoscopic 3D in the home is "up to the game content... much more so than film and broadcast."

NVIDIA 3D Vision allows you to play over 400 titles in 3D right now.

"In fact, the 3D veteran hopes that games may be the 'killer app' that helps 3D take hold in the home. "People aren't going to buy those TVs unless there's stuff to do with it", he said. While Blu-Ray 3D may be somewhat interesting, playing major interactive games in stereoscopic 3D will be a lot more tempting for consumers, he added."

NVIDIA 3D Vision is another example of NVIDIA leading the gaming industry in the right direction, while giving our customers great graphics--plus something other GPUs do not offer such as 3D Vision, PhysX and CUDA.

EVGA Does PhysX

Physics has the power to completely change gameplay in new, unique ways. It makes the world more realistic, which adds to the immersive quality of the game. Physics also adds behavioral aspects and interaction not experienced before. NVIDIA GPU owners can experience it today on games with NVIDIA PhysX, which can dramatically improve the quality of your gaming experience! EVGA has made a great video to demonstrate the power of PhysX.

NVIDIA PhysX is a powerful physics engine enabling real-time physics in leading edge PC and console games.

GeForce GTX 470 Will Not Be Outdone

Last week NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 GPUs were used to break world records. This week we keep steamrolling, with the little brother know as the GeForce GTX 470.

"For me, the (GeForce) GTX 470 is the perfect board for demanding gamers."

The GeForce GTX 470 offers a value proposition that the completion can't touch.

"AMD have definitely lost this battle as it stands with the GTX 470 comfortably out-performing the HD 5870."

It is still a graphics workhorse and a tessellation monster.

"It is an average 20% slower than its senior cousin but 6% ahead of the Radeon HD 5870, the gap being as large as 50% in certain tests. The frame rate is playable in every game. Besides, the GeForce GTX 470 is much better than its opponent when doing tessellation as is indicated by their results in Metro 2033."

Just this week GeForce 470 GTX-based cards were awarded the HardOCP Editor's Choice Silver Award, the Hispazone Producto Recomendado Award, Bjorn3D Golden Bear Award and 4.5 stars from Tech Radar.

Clinton Mallory Almost Pwns TAP

A few weeks ago NVIDIA's own Tom (TAP) Petersen used the NVIDIA blog to give gamers a few tips in dethroning him as the world record holder for our Supersonic Sled Demo. Since then scores have improved by over a second. Clinton Mallory listened and learned, and has posted the top 12 times so far, the fastest being 15.202 seconds. That is only about 3 tenths of a second slower than TAP's record. Think you can bet him? Watch the blog for tips and get your sled movin'.