Engadget Primed: The crazy science of GPU compute

Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. You can follow the series here. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com. As you're hopefully aware, this is a gadget blog. As a result, we're innately biased towards stuff that's new and preferably fandangled. More cores, more pixels, more lenses; just give it here and make us happy. The risk of this type of technological greed is that we don't make full use of what we already have, and nothing illustrates that better than the Graphics Processing Unit. Whether it sits in our desktops, laptops, tablets or phones, the GPU is cruelly limited by its history -- its long-established reputation as a dumb, muscular component that takes instructions from the main processor and translates them into pixels for us to gawp at. But what if the GPUs in our devices had some buried genius -- abilities that, if only we could tap into them, would yield hyper-realistic experiences and better all-round performance from affordable hardware? Well, the thing is, this hidden potential actually exists. We've been covering it since at least 2008 and, even though it still hasn't generated enough fuss to become truly famous, the semiconductor industry is making more noise about it now than ever before. So please, join us after the break as we endeavor to explain why the trend known as "GPU compute," aka "general purpose GPU (GPGPU)," or simply "not patronizing your graphics processor," is still exciting despite having let us down in the past. We'll try to show why it's worth learning a few related concepts and terms to help provide a glossary for future coverage; and why, on the whole, your graphics chip is less Hasselhoff and more Hoffman than you may have imagined.Continue reading Engadget Primed: The crazy science of GPU computeFiled under: Cellphones, Desktops, Tablet PCsEngadget Primed: The crazy science of GPU compute originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Commentsmost popular retail codes to eagle u2 51 s galvanized capacity diameter buy chea most popular retail codes to receive acdelco 15125111 cable assembly buy cheap 2 most popular retail coupon codes for the central tools cen 3m113 storm micromete most popular retail coupon codes for the northern industrial ultrasonic cleaner most popular retail coupons to receive anest iwata iwa5682 lph400 lvx compliant most popular retail coupons to receive otc 5081 s cam brake spring buy cheap 201 most popular retail voucher codes just for raybestos rc10206 loaded brake calipe most popular retail voucher codes just for smittybilt jb44 rht textured tubular most popular shopping coupons for many atd atd 7431 actuated telescopic transmis most popular special coupon codes on seasense 50048220 seasense 1120pc screw buy most popular target free shipping coupon code 2021 of fluke input digital thermo most popular target free shipping coupon code 2021 of westward 3apg3 action bear most popular voucher codes to receive anest iwata iwa3957 gravity aluminum buy c most popular voucher codes to receive dee zee dz4143 brite tread protector buy c most popular vouchers on raybestos rc3186 loaded brake caliper buy cheap 2012 am most popular vouchers on smiley face spare tire cover buy cheap 2012 amazon most reliable all you coupons at beck arnley 0790621 remanufactured caliper buy most reliable all you coupons at street scene 95072141 950 72141 hood buy cheap most reliable all you coupons for the equus 3347 digital multimeter probe buy ch most reliable amazon coupon codes free shipping to obtain lascar el usb tc therm most reliable amazon coupon codes free shipping to obtain lascar el usb tc therm most reliable amazon promo codes free shipping suitable for single acting spring most reliable amazon promo codes free shipping suitable for wright tool 4478 tor most reliable bargains to performance accessories 6414 nissan pathfinder buy che most reliable best coupons to advanced atd 7974 service plug in jumpstart buy ch most reliable bonus codes to receive cardone 901006 remanufactured vacuum pump b most reliable bonus coupon codes on acdelco c1832 switch assembly buy cheap 2012 most reliable bonus coupon codes on marine xtreme charge battery charger buy che most reliable buy coupons over price 100 bondhus balldriver l wrench buy cheap 2 most reliable copons to receive garage floor protection mat 20 buy cheap 2012 am