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Unified Shader Architecture
In the field of 3D computer graphics, the unified shader model (known in Direct3D 10 as "Shader Model 4.0") refers to a form of shader hardware in a graphical processing unit (GPU) where all of the shader stages in the rendering pipeline (geometry, vertex, pixel, etc.) have the same capabilities. They can all read textures and buffers, and they use instruction sets that are almost identical. History Earlier GPUs generally included two types of shader hardware, with the ''vertex shaders'' having considerably more instructions than the simpler ''pixel shaders''. This lowered the cost of implementation of the GPU as a whole, and allowed more shaders in total on a single unit. This was at the cost of making the system less flexible, and sometimes leaving one set of shaders idle if the workload used one more than the other. As improvements in fabrication continued, this distinction became less useful. ATI Technologies introduced a unified architecture on the hardware they developed f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unified Shader Model
In the field of 3D computer graphics, the unified shader model (known in Direct3D 10 as "Shader Model 4.0") refers to a form of shader hardware in a graphical processing unit (GPU) where all of the shader stages in the rendering pipeline (geometry, vertex, pixel, etc.) have the same capabilities. They can all read textures and buffers, and they use instruction sets that are almost identical. History Earlier GPUs generally included two types of shader hardware, with the ''vertex shaders'' having considerably more instructions than the simpler ''pixel shaders''. This lowered the cost of implementation of the GPU as a whole, and allowed more shaders in total on a single unit. This was at the cost of making the system less flexible, and sometimes leaving one set of shaders idle if the workload used one more than the other. As improvements in fabrication continued, this distinction became less useful. ATI Technologies introduced a unified architecture on the hardware they developed f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Load Balancing (computing)
In computing, load balancing is the process of distributing a set of tasks over a set of resources (computing units), with the aim of making their overall processing more efficient. Load balancing can optimize the response time and avoid unevenly overloading some compute nodes while other compute nodes are left idle. Load balancing is the subject of research in the field of parallel computers. Two main approaches exist: static algorithms, which do not take into account the state of the different machines, and dynamic algorithms, which are usually more general and more efficient but require exchanges of information between the different computing units, at the risk of a loss of efficiency. Problem overview A load-balancing algorithm always tries to answer a specific problem. Among other things, the nature of the tasks, the algorithmic complexity, the hardware architecture on which the algorithms will run as well as required error tolerance, must be taken into account. Therefore c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pascal (microarchitecture)
Pascal is the codename for a GPU microarchitecture developed by Nvidia, as the successor to the Maxwell architecture. The architecture was first introduced in April 2016 with the release of the Tesla P100 (GP100) on April 5, 2016, and is primarily used in the GeForce 10 series, starting with the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 (both using the GP104 GPU), which were released on May 17, 2016 and June 10, 2016 respectively. Pascal was manufactured using TSMC's 16 nm FinFET process, and later Samsung's 14nm FinFET process. The architecture is named after the 17th century French mathematician and physicist, Blaise Pascal. In April 2019, Nvidia enabled a software implementation of DirectX Raytracing on Pascal-based cards starting with the GTX 1060 6 GB, and in the 16 series cards, a feature reserved to the Turing-based RTX series up to that point. Details In March 2014, Nvidia announced that the successor to Maxwell would be the Pascal microarchitecture; announced on May 6, 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxwell (microarchitecture)
Maxwell is the codename for a GPU microarchitecture developed by Nvidia as the successor to the Kepler microarchitecture. The Maxwell architecture was introduced in later models of the GeForce 700 series and is also used in the GeForce 800M series, GeForce 900 series, and Quadro Mxxx series, as well as some Jetson products, all manufactured with TSMC's 28 nm process. The first Maxwell-based products were the GeForce GTX 745 (OEM), GeForce GTX 750, and the GeForce GTX 750 Ti. Both were released on February 18, 2014, both with the chip code number GM107. Earlier GeForce 700 series GPUs had used Kepler chips with the code numbers GK1xx. First-generation Maxwell GPUs (code numbers GM10x) are also used in the GeForce 800M series and the Quadro Kxxx series. A second generation of Maxwell-based products was introduced on September 18, 2014 with the GeForce GTX 970 and GeForce GTX 980, followed by the GeForce GTX 960 on January 22, 2015, the GeForce GTX Titan X on March 17, 2015, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kepler (microarchitecture)
Kepler is the codename for a GPU microarchitecture developed by Nvidia, first introduced at retail in April 2012, as the successor to the Fermi microarchitecture. Kepler was Nvidia's first microarchitecture to focus on energy efficiency. Most GeForce 600 series, most GeForce 700 series, and some GeForce 800M series GPUs were based on Kepler, all manufactured in 28 nm. Kepler also found use in the GK20A, the GPU component of the Tegra K1 SoC, as well as in the Quadro Kxxx series, the Quadro NVS 510, and Nvidia Tesla computing modules. Kepler was followed by the Maxwell microarchitecture and used alongside Maxwell in the GeForce 700 series and GeForce 800M series. The architecture is named after Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician and key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution. Overview Where the goal of Nvidia's previous architecture was design focused on increasing performance on compute and tessellation, with Kepler architecture Nvidia targeted their focu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fermi (microarchitecture)
Fermi is the codename for a graphics processing unit (GPU) microarchitecture developed by Nvidia, first released to retail in April 2010, as the successor to the Tesla microarchitecture. It was the primary microarchitecture used in the GeForce 400 series and GeForce 500 series. It was followed by Kepler, and used alongside Kepler in the GeForce 600 series, GeForce 700 series, and GeForce 800 series, in the latter two only in mobile GPUs. In the workstation market, Fermi found use in the Quadro x000 series, Quadro NVS models, as well as in Nvidia Tesla computing modules. All desktop Fermi GPUs were manufactured in 40nm, mobile Fermi GPUs in 40nm and 28nm. Fermi is the oldest microarchitecture from NVIDIA that received support for the Microsoft's rendering API Direct3D 12 feature_level 11. The architecture is named after Enrico Fermi, an Italian physicist. Overview Fermi Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) feature 3.0 billion transistors and a schematic is sketched in Fig. 1. * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PowerVR
PowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies (formerly VideoLogic) that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and DirectX, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration. PowerVR also develops AI accelerators called Neural Network Accelerator (NNA). The PowerVR product line was originally introduced to compete in the desktop PC market for 3D hardware accelerators with a product with a better price–performance ratio than existing products like those from 3dfx Interactive. Rapid changes in that market, notably with the introduction of OpenGL and Direct3D, led to rapid consolidation. PowerVR introduced new versions with low-power electronics that were aimed at the laptop computer market. Over time, this developed into a series of designs that could be incorporated into system-on-a-chip architectures suitable for handheld device use. PowerVR accelerators are not manufactured by PowerVR, but instead t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mali (GPU)
The Mali series of graphics processing units (GPUs) and multimedia processors are semiconductor intellectual property cores produced by Arm Holdings for licensing in various ASIC designs by Arm partners. Mali GPUs were developed by Falanx Microsystems A/S, which was a spin-off of a research project from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Arm Holdings acquired Falanx Microsystems A/S on June 23, 2006 and renamed the company to Arm Norway. Originally named ''Malaik'', the team shortened the name to ''Mali'', Serbo-Croatian for "small", which was thought to be fitting for a mobile GPU. Technical details Like other embedded IP cores for 3D rendering acceleration, the Mali GPU does not include display controllers driving monitors, in contrast to common desktop video cards. Instead, the Mali ARM core is a pure 3D engine that renders graphics into memory and passes the rendered image over to another core to handle display. ARM does, however, license display cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adreno
Adreno is a series of graphics processing unit (GPU) semiconductor intellectual property cores developed by Qualcomm and used in many of their SoCs. History Adreno (an anagram of AMD's graphic card brand '' Radeon''), was originally developed by ATI Technologies and sold to Qualcomm in 2009 for $65M, and was used in their mobile chipset products. Early Adreno models included the Adreno 100 and 110, which had 2D graphics acceleration and limited multimedia capabilities. At the time, 3D graphics on mobile platforms were commonly handled using software-based rendering engines, which limited their performance. With growing demand for more advanced multimedia and 3D graphics capabilities, Qualcomm licensed the Imageon IP from AMD, in order to add hardware-accelerated 3D capabilities to their mobile products. Further collaboration with AMD resulted in the development of the Adreno 200, originally named the AMD Z430, based on the R400 architecture used in the Xenos GPU of the Xbox 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intel GMA
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) is a series of integrated graphics processors introduced in 2004 by Intel, replacing the earlier Intel Extreme Graphics series and being succeeded by the Intel HD and Iris Graphics series. This series targets the market of low-cost graphics solutions. The products in this series are integrated onto the motherboard, have limited graphics processing power, and use the computer's main memory for storage instead of a dedicated video memory. They are commonly found on netbooks, low-priced laptops and desktop computers, as well as business computers which do not need high levels of graphics capability. In early 2007, about 90% of all PC motherboards sold had an integrated GPU. History The GMA line of GPUs replaces the earlier Intel Extreme Graphics, and the Intel740 line, the latter of which was a discrete unit in the form of AGP and PCI cards with technology that evolved from companies Real3D and Lockheed Martin. Later, Intel integrated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
S3 Graphics Chrome 400
S3 Graphics Chrome 400 is a computer graphics chip made by VIA. It was the successor of S3 Chrome S20 series. History VIA planned the production of two new graphics chips, Chrome 440 and 430, by the end of 2007. The Chrome 460 supported DirectX 10 and adopted a 90 nanometer process, while the Chrome 430 was to support DirectX 10.1 using a 65 nanometer process. The Chrome 400 series was codenamed 'Destination'. Both chips were to be manufactured by Fujitsu. Volume production was expected to start before the end of the year. The 430 GT was released on 2008-03-20 in the US market, while 440 GTX was released on 2008-05-30. Features The production models were made in 65 nm process, support DirectX 10.1, and use PCI Express 2.0 interface. Chrome engine supported variable-length decoding, and dual-stream Blu-ray playback (440 GTX). The display unit included two dual-link DVI transmitters with integrated HDMI (audio pass-through) and HDCP, an integrated dual-channel LVDS Low-v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Radeon HD 2000 Series
The graphics processing unit (GPU) codenamed Radeon R600 is the foundation of the Radeon HD 2000 series and the FireGL 2007 series video cards developed by ATI Technologies. The HD 2000 cards competed with nVidia's GeForce 8 series. Architecture This article is about all products under the brand "Radeon HD 2000 Series". They all contain a GPU which implements TeraScale 1, ATI's first Unified shader model microarchitecture for PCs. Video acceleration The Unified Video Decoder (UVD) SIP core is on-die in the HD 2400 and the HD 2600. The HD 2900 GPU dies do not have a UVD core, as its stream processors were powerful enough to handle most of the steps of video acceleration in its stead except for entropy decoding and bitstream processing which are left for the CPU to perform. Other features HDTV encoding support is implemented via the integrated AMD Xilleon encoder; the companion ''Rage Theater'' chip used on the Radeon X1000 series was replaced with the digital ''Theater 200' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
