Thoughts on CPU+GPU and ray tracing

[pipo]

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/08/the_coming_comb.html#more

I’ve interviewed a number of folks about what they think about the possibility of combining the graphics chip and the CPU, as well as the notion that ray tracing on the CPU might replace rasterization on graphics chips. Some of these interviews took place before the AMD-ATI merger, and some after. Here are some of the quotes.

 

[Inane_Dork]

Everyone sounds pretty sold on the CPU/GPU merger, like the prodigal son returning home. Sounds... interesting.

 

[Guden Oden]

I doubt it'll happen, if for no other reason than bandwidth... No CPU has ever come close to anything but the most budgety of budget graphics cards when it comes to memory performance, and I seriously doubt this catching-up happens ANYTIME SOON. Nor do I think GPU functionality is going to start consuming LESS bandwidth anytime soon either...

Please tell me how they'd fit 256-bit multichannel interfaces capable of transferring 30+ GB/s on ye bog standard 4-layer mobo... Can't be done!

Tim Swiney for example blabbed about CPUs taking over the role of the GPU years ago, he isn't close to have his prophecy come to fulfilment, if anything, the gap's wider than it's ever been in the annals of mankind. Then again, he's blabbed a lot of crazy untrue stuff in the past, so I wouldn't listen to closely at him.

 

[nAo]

I think this is the special ray tracing month..there's an article pimping RT even on the last new scientist.
CPU+GPU+ray tracing replacing rasterization? no way
gimme irregular rasterization instead (even though someone would call that ray tracing, lol)

 

[Gubbi]

Tim Swiney for example blabbed about CPUs taking over the role of the GPU years ago, he isn't close to have his prophecy come to fulfilment, if anything, the gap's wider than it's ever been in the annals of mankind. Then again, he's blabbed a lot of crazy untrue stuff in the past, so I wouldn't listen to closely at him.

Actually he talked about convergence between CPUs and GPUs, which is happening: Branching in shaders, true random memory access etc.

It's not that CPUs has become more GPU-like, it's the other way around.

Cheers

 

[Guden Oden]

Actually he talked about convergence between CPUs and GPUs

ACTUALLY, at that particular time, he talked about how the former would obsolete the latter. If he's changed the tune he's piping, then that's something that happened later on.

 

[Killer-Kris]

I think that perhaps Bob Drebin's comment of...

We aren’t running out of things we wish we could do.

...is pretty accurate. Which to me says, the niche with discrete CPUs and GPUs will continue to exist just like it does today, and the systems which ship with IGPs today will merely have it integrated into the CPU instead of the chipset. I can't ever see a combined CPU/GPU beating dedicated parts, both are far to specialized to be good at the other's work. Or in the case of a GPU always being able to use more resources, ie discrete will ALWAYS be faster.

 

[ADEX]

Dave Orton, CEO of ATI Technologies: I think it is extremely realistic that the CPU and the GPU will be combined on one chip.

That's quite a funny comment given ATI did exactly that years ago!

They do Set top box chips with GPUs and MIPs processors on a single chip.