OpenGL 3 Updates

[sqrt[-1]]

In about 4 years, we'll have 32 core processors. Another year and a half and it will be 64 cores. The more cores we'll have, the less we will know what to do with them. Over time, the extra processing power of the GPU will become irrelevant compared to the power of multicore CPUs.

Don't be too proud of this technological marvel you have constructed on the CPU, it's power is insignificant compared to the power of the GPU!

[zed]

And? Shocking though it may be, doing video encoding is not something that is "mainstream," nor will it be in the near future.

true, though its one of the few things where extra computing power is needed, like i mentioned a few pages ago, since cpus hit ~2ghz the average person doesnt really care, web browsing, typing letters etc are fast enuf.
its a similar story with GPUs (sure extra power is nice be it GPU or CPU) but look at what they have to benchmark games at nowadays, 1600x1200+4xAA even then most games run at 100fps, whats next? 3200x2400+16xAA but thats all just diminished returns.
instead what is needed, are better ways to shade these pixels.
a more powerful + complete graphics language/API == a better way

[CatDog]

Games games games!

Hey, there's some other kinds of graphics applications out there. Try to render some sophisticated technical simulation including generic *user data*. Believe me, these people simply don't care. They export every hi-poly screw model right from their CAD workstations. And when the framerate drops under 20fps because of their 300M triangles, you've got them on the phone. Oh yes, and that's just the rendering stuff. After clicking together that assembly line for the new Mercedes Benz it also has to be simulated. "And, please, some collision detection, cause we don't want that robot crash into the windscreen, do we? What? I have to manually switch off collision detection for the non relevant models? Why can't I just collide everything with everything else? Just like in real life?!"

Damn stupid customers!

Oh well. Not really.

Err. What I really wanted to say is: no, it's not fast enough. I want 64 cores.

CatDog

[knackered]

well, games are what funded these cheap GPU's we're currently enjoying. If the only sector that needed realtime 3d graphics was the visualisation sector, we'd still be paying £100,000 a pop for our GPU's. Like back in the days of SGI infinite reality workstations etc.

[CatDog]

Don't get me wrong. I love games and every advance in technology they bring out! But, especially for OpenGL in contrast to D3D, there are many other applications, too. At least it was like that in the past...

Btw, seeing it from the developers point of view, with hardware getting more powerful and prices going down, it seems that quality decreases also. Which is acceptable for games only, in my opinion.

CatDog

[Brolingstanz]

The problem here is bus bandwidth.

Yes indeed, and it's a problem that not likely to go away anytime soon. I think in the end GPU vendors would like offer something akin to an entire game console on a card (or two), while the CPU folks continue to compete via multicore mitosis. Either way, the pitifully lethargic evolution of the basic PC architecture make leveraging the 2 simultaneously an exasperating exercise in creativity and determination...

I think we're all ready for a one-stop computation-shop. This stuff makes my head hurt.

[Korval]

I think we're all ready for a one-stop computation-shop. This stuff makes my head hurt.

Well, if you want one, AMD's working on a CPU with an integrated on-chip GPU.

[Hampel]

Taking the space on the die into account, I would says, it is the other way round: they integrate a CPU into the GPU...

[Korval]

Taking the space on the die into account, I would says, it is the other way round: they integrate a CPU into the GPU...

It goes into the slot on my computer marked "CPU", so I'll call it one of those.

[Brolingstanz]

One interesting possibility with a more generic or capable GPU or CPU is the possibility that they turn into platforms in and of themselves, as opposed to the relative anonymity they enjoy now as cogs in a larger wheel. Suppose you could make the argument that this situation already exists in some commercial contexts (GPGPU science, engineering, etc. as mentioned earlier). Interesting, arguably, but it's probably a long walk from graphics card or even GPGPU to gaming platform..