Crazy Buddhist
06-21-2008, 02:26 PM
This thread (http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14571&page=2) about Nvidia's total integration of AGEIA got me thinking about the strange relationships in the computer market and where things are going in the next year or three. So I started googling .... and anyone who knows me knows that usually takes me places ... soo ...
We have Nvidia who make GPU's and MOBO chipsets and now have their own Physics operation too. We have Intel who as we all know make CPU's, chipsets and are increasingly integrating video capabilities into their chipsets. They also own HavoK who are the leading Physics company/opposition to AGEIA. And we have AMD who make CPU's but appear about 18 months behind Intel right now and own ATI who make GPU's and are actually quite good, if only they would wait and release products with working drivers. And ... have just signed a deal with HavoK (yes the Intel subsidiary) to provide full integration of their 3d Physics into both AMD CPU's and ATI GPU's.
And then we have the technologies ... and the main one here is "stream processing" which is releasing the huge computational power of GPU's for more general computational tasks. CUDA, the new programming language from NVIDIA which is an extension to C allows programmers to directly address the GPU. Intel are implementing this through DX10 which will allow direct addressing of the GPU by coders. And AMD are clearly going to implement the HavoK Physics now siding with Intel. .....
... and I started thinking about these inter-relationships and where we are heading and I decided we are heading to the CPU and the GPU merging. The CPU('s) could then directly harness the stream (parallel) processing power of the GPU's without all the bottlenecks of passing through external buses and controllers thus maximising the flexibility of the total processing power without lots of complicated driver and programming layers intervening.
AMD Own ATI, no problems in an integrated scenario.
intel: Some chipsets have increasingly sophisticated graphics + they have the HavoK guys to help out.
Nvidia: Bit screwed here. Can't team up with AMD and INTEL wouldn't want them. Or are they? Because a little digging later I found this (http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37729/135/):
"For GPU computing, future Tegra parts (Tegra 2 is scheduled for 2009, Tegra 3 for 2010) will inevitably include SATA support, which would allow users to put a SSD array directly onto a Tesla GPGPU card and eliminate the need for a motherboard and Intel/AMD CPUs. Indeed, applications of this "jack of all trades" chip with a ridiculously small TDP can deeply impact the already existing desktop, notebook and HPC markets."
"What is Tegra?
To clear out some confusion, let us first stress that Tegra is not a CPU. Neither is a GPU or a combination of both with one part dominating the other.
Instead, Tegra is a “system-on-a-chip” (SoC) or “computer-on-a-chip” (CoC). Tegra consists of an ARM11 CPU core, a GoForce (renamed into GeForce ULV) GPU, an image processor (digital camera support), a HD video processor (PureVideo for handhelds), memory (NAND Flash, Mobile DDR), a northbridge (memory controller, display output, HDMI+HDCP, security engine) and a southbridge (USB OTG, UART, external memory card SPI SDIO, etc).
In short, Tegra includes the whole shebang: CPU, graphics and what you traditionally find on a motherboard are squeezed onto a single silicon die. What is particularly impressive about this device is the fact that this chip measures just 144 mm2, which is smaller than a dime and about one quarter the size of the upcoming GeForce graphics chip, which measures 576 mm2, according to our sources."
Who makes Tegra?
"Nvidia’s Tegra hits expands barriers of market segments and puts the company within reach of a new market that currently has a demand of more than 1 billion processors per year. It could be a game-changing move for Nvidia - not just in terms of growth opportunity."
My conclusion is that in the end it will be Nvidia vs AMD and Intel.
Thoughts on a postcard ....
Crazy
We have Nvidia who make GPU's and MOBO chipsets and now have their own Physics operation too. We have Intel who as we all know make CPU's, chipsets and are increasingly integrating video capabilities into their chipsets. They also own HavoK who are the leading Physics company/opposition to AGEIA. And we have AMD who make CPU's but appear about 18 months behind Intel right now and own ATI who make GPU's and are actually quite good, if only they would wait and release products with working drivers. And ... have just signed a deal with HavoK (yes the Intel subsidiary) to provide full integration of their 3d Physics into both AMD CPU's and ATI GPU's.
And then we have the technologies ... and the main one here is "stream processing" which is releasing the huge computational power of GPU's for more general computational tasks. CUDA, the new programming language from NVIDIA which is an extension to C allows programmers to directly address the GPU. Intel are implementing this through DX10 which will allow direct addressing of the GPU by coders. And AMD are clearly going to implement the HavoK Physics now siding with Intel. .....
... and I started thinking about these inter-relationships and where we are heading and I decided we are heading to the CPU and the GPU merging. The CPU('s) could then directly harness the stream (parallel) processing power of the GPU's without all the bottlenecks of passing through external buses and controllers thus maximising the flexibility of the total processing power without lots of complicated driver and programming layers intervening.
AMD Own ATI, no problems in an integrated scenario.
intel: Some chipsets have increasingly sophisticated graphics + they have the HavoK guys to help out.
Nvidia: Bit screwed here. Can't team up with AMD and INTEL wouldn't want them. Or are they? Because a little digging later I found this (http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/37729/135/):
"For GPU computing, future Tegra parts (Tegra 2 is scheduled for 2009, Tegra 3 for 2010) will inevitably include SATA support, which would allow users to put a SSD array directly onto a Tesla GPGPU card and eliminate the need for a motherboard and Intel/AMD CPUs. Indeed, applications of this "jack of all trades" chip with a ridiculously small TDP can deeply impact the already existing desktop, notebook and HPC markets."
"What is Tegra?
To clear out some confusion, let us first stress that Tegra is not a CPU. Neither is a GPU or a combination of both with one part dominating the other.
Instead, Tegra is a “system-on-a-chip” (SoC) or “computer-on-a-chip” (CoC). Tegra consists of an ARM11 CPU core, a GoForce (renamed into GeForce ULV) GPU, an image processor (digital camera support), a HD video processor (PureVideo for handhelds), memory (NAND Flash, Mobile DDR), a northbridge (memory controller, display output, HDMI+HDCP, security engine) and a southbridge (USB OTG, UART, external memory card SPI SDIO, etc).
In short, Tegra includes the whole shebang: CPU, graphics and what you traditionally find on a motherboard are squeezed onto a single silicon die. What is particularly impressive about this device is the fact that this chip measures just 144 mm2, which is smaller than a dime and about one quarter the size of the upcoming GeForce graphics chip, which measures 576 mm2, according to our sources."
Who makes Tegra?
"Nvidia’s Tegra hits expands barriers of market segments and puts the company within reach of a new market that currently has a demand of more than 1 billion processors per year. It could be a game-changing move for Nvidia - not just in terms of growth opportunity."
My conclusion is that in the end it will be Nvidia vs AMD and Intel.
Thoughts on a postcard ....
Crazy