Nvidia CEO says 'Tegra,' Apple future of computing
Updated at 4:30 p.m. PDT adding Tegra, Intel, and Ion discussions.
On Tuesday, Nvidia Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang said at the company's analyst day that the graphics processor will be an equal partner with Intel processors, citing Apple as an early trendsetter.
On other fronts, Huang said that the ARM-based Tegra processor is expected to account for half of Nvidia's business in a few years. He also repeated claims about Intel crimping the success of its Ion processor in Netbooks.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang
(Credit: Nvidia)Huang said that "CPU-GPU co-processing" is the future of computing. (CPU stands for central processing unit. GPU for graphics processing unit.)
"Apple is an early indicator," Huang said during his opening remarks that were streamed over the Web, referring to the importance that Apple is placing on the graphics processor. "The MacBook Pro to the MacBook Air has a GPU," he said. And he waxed eloquent about how the performance and power efficiency of the updated version of the Air has benefited by having co-processors: an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU.
"Doing the right job with the right tool is more efficient," he said, referring to the Air, which Huang claims runs longer and cooler with a GPU. Typically, ultra-thin laptops like the Air don't have a discrete (separate) Nvidia or ATI graphics processor.
Apple currently uses Nvidia GPUs across its laptop product line and touts the potential for GPUs on its Web site. "OpenCL (Open Computing Language), makes it possible for developers to efficiently tap the vast gigaflops of computing power currently locked up in the graphics processing unit," according to a statement on Apple's Web site.
And at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, an Apple executive expanded on this theme, explaining how Mac OS X will support GPGPU--general-purpose graphics processing unit--which lets a graphics chip run some computing jobs in addition to its ordinary job displaying graphics.
Huang also addressed its Tegra chip, which is an ARM-based design that integrates an Nvidia GeForce processor. Tegra is targeted at smartphones and Netbooks. Responding to a question from an analyst, he said that in a few years Tegra may represent half of its business, with the rest divided up between the professional (Tesla, Quadro) and the consumer GeForce markets.
Huang also repeated his assertion that Intel is using pricing--what he called "subsidies"--and "MDF" (market development funds) to prevent Nvidia from selling more of it Ion processors to customers. He claimed the success of the Ion processor would be two to three times greater without Intel interference.
Brooke Crothers has been an editor at large at CNET News, an analyst at IDC Japan, and an editor at The Asian Wall Street Journal Weekly, among other endeavors, including co-manager of an after-school math-and-reading center. He writes for the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
Flame on Wintards!
You should be more sensitive. That kind of language is simply not politically correct enough for modern society.
Why not "Productivity-challenged" instead.
;-)
The article, for some reason, GPU is future of computing. Trick to attract fanboys?
Anyone?
Very unlikely
Bwahahahaha !!
In the current hoopla about showy Apple features like multi-touch, LED backlit screens, integrated but longer lasting batteries etc, 2 technologies seem to very important but will get ignored by most consumers because they are less obvious - OpenCL and Grand Central (which enables developers to optimize the use of multi core processors) which is one of the most significant parts of the new Snow Leopard version of OS X.
The fact that I can get excited by these things will make many of my friends wish that there is a cure for being a geek - they look on it as a disease. Sadly, I don't care about that and continue to be excited by the evolution of processors and computing technology. The future looks wonderful.
The bit where the processor performance is tested is with audio/video encoding and this is exactly where GPUs are more capable that standard processors.
Give me apowerful enough CPU and a GPU that is being used for more than displaying pretty graphics and I would have most of my needs sorted.
When the pain becomes unbearable (it?s all about money), it will suddenly dawn on everybody in the business that it?s finally time to force the baby boomers (the Turing Machine worshippers) into retirement in order to boldly break away from the flawed and failed computing models of the last century.
How to Solve the Parallel Programming Crisis:
http://rebelscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-solve-parallel-programming.html
- by theorifice June 19, 2009 12:26 PM PDT
- The only things the average consumer needs processing power are Video Decoding and Adobe Flash content. With hardware decoding being a standard option for any PC with discrete graphics, the only motivator to increase processing power is the unportable, closed source Adobe Flash player. As hi-definition streaming video becomes even more prevalent, PC designers are going to need to push Adobe for better integration with existing graphics acceleration technologies rather than having to attack Flash content with brute processing power.
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(19 Comments)For example, a low powered Atom processor can easily play hi definition content when paired with the low powered ION chipset, but struggles to play any sort of high-definition streaming video, which is most often lower quality/bitrate.
And then there is the Linux situation which is largely the same. Nvidia has already taken the lead by a huge margin in the Linux world due to driver support and the recent addition of the VDPAU framework for hardware video decoding. Unfortunately due to Adobe's binary only flash player, this system is completely unusable for high-definition full screen flash video.
Adobe needs to open up and begin to embrace the hardware landscape of today and not be stuck in the mindset of the P4 era.