SuperComputer on GPU for 4000€

[3LP]

Hi there.
I was reading some computer acticle when I came on this :

http://fastra.ua.ac.be/en/index.html

I know that these kind of calculation isn't the right way to use for Vray, but it can be intresting for other people so I post it here.

So vlado, allways saying that GPGPU is useless? I know that these kind of processors aren't great for Vray rendering, is it allways true? Or does things have change since ?

Stan
3LP Team

[instinct]

Just try writing some highlevel stuff on a GPU and feel the pain :P

The instruction sets are pretty limited on GPUs these days.

Regards,
Thorsten

[vlado]

What I'm saying is that the current GPU model (SIMD - single instruction/multiple data) is not suitable for raytracing. However next-generation processors like Intel's Larabee, which rely on individual cores doing different things, will probably be more suitable for this. On the other hand, the number of CPU cores is also likely to increase, so in the end you may not need a GPU at all.

Best regards,
Vlado

[sea2stars]

Heh. Meanwhile it's fun watching Nvidia and Intel take potshots at each other.

[mike_kennedy]

Nvidia in response to Laribee has said ray tracing makes little sense for games, which is their main market. But Nvidia seems to be talking out of two sides of their own mouths since they killed their own renderer and are now focusing on MR, which is a ray tracer.....
But anyone who has used dedicated raytrace hardware like ART will tell you it's pretty frustrating in some ways...