【 Weak current College 】 video card GPU mainstream applications technology

Because consumers on large 3D gaming and high-definition video entertainment enjoyment of demand, the video card in the computer more and more importance, especially between the GPU and CPU, but with the coming of the era of video card GPU. In this article we will explain some of the video card mainstream applications.

1.SLI

In 1997, then get the video card market is 3Dfx a dominance in 1996, he launched the voodoo accelerator card has become a player in hot pursuit of a generation of classical product. And let players crazy is the voodoo2 SLI with "Internet technology", cross the technique can have two video cards are connected parallel operation, get almost doubled up 3D performance. This technology has become an SLI development start.

3Dfx later acquired by NV, related technologies also owned. But until then the video card market is becoming more and more fierce, NV Company to consolidate its dominant position in a graphical display, NV Company, in June 2004 introduced SLIMulti-GPU (SLI, ScalableLinkInterface, staggered Internet) multi GPU parallel processing technology, this new technology in the existing PC system with a much more robust graphics performance.

Smart SLI

Smart SLI technology is the use of onboard video and discrete graphics-card on the Internet. This is a smart SLI hardware needed. Furthermore, smart SLI have combinations can also be: [onboard video] + [discrete graphics]; or [onboard video] + [dual card SLI].

But it must be on-board graphics cards and discrete graphics with to achieve the performance and energy balance, because using the on-board video memory is an important factor in achieving energy conservation, and discrete graphics and onboard video common work to achieve high performance is reached.

The concept made from 3dfx to nVIDIA SLI, SLI, and then again to the smart SLI, to the acceleration of the physical operations, SLI has undergone several historical span. SLI is not just to handful of enthusiasts, who can do it for all computer users, and NVIDIA will this technology for the first time in the application of high, medium, and low on all platforms, you can see that NVIDIA force pushing the popularity of this technology.

2.PureVideo

NVIDIA PureVideo is a technology developed, aimed at PC brings users the high definition home theater experience.

The first generation PureVideo: since the video card from GeForce7 series, NV will meet market demands in this series of import high-definition video decode, but because at that time the high definition format confusion and complexity of the encoding, then you can only play "of PureVideo supporting role", the main task of decoding or falls on the CPU, system usage is too high, it is the PureVideo technology of the first generation.

The second generation PureVideo: GeForce8 era, PureVideo comprehensive upgrade. Have been able to perfect decoding H.264 encoding high-definition video, but this time, more high-definition encoding technology (like VC-1) or cannot be perfect support, many players complain about, this is the second generation PureVideo technology.

With nVIDIA's new graphics core G98, third generation PureVideoHD technology also came before us, it is N card in order to fill the high-definition video playback VC-1 capability gaps, originally the second generation PureVideo technology does not support the full hardware video decode VC-1, in the third generation of video engine technology is finally resolved, the third-generation nVIDIA PureVideo technology, joined the VC-1 HD format hardware video decompression, BitstreamProcessing also handed video processor to process, resulting in high-definition playback, VC-1 processor from overburdened State.

PureVideoHD added many new features such as dual stream decode acceleration, dynamic contrast enhancement as well as blue, green, and skin color enhancement technology, as we will be high-definition video effects for enhancing a grade.

Dual stream decode acceleration is also a very important technique that many Blu-ray high-definition movies already offers a number of video streams, when in play can achieve picture in picture function (such as Director, Edition, etc.), double-speed can achieve a picture-in-picture function of time will not increase in CPU utilization, the GPU will also take on this job.

3.PhysX

AGEIA PhysX is original, developed by a set of physical computing engines, the main competitor is the Havok. As with Havok, Physx can also be used in the Xbox360, Playstation3, PC, Mac and other platforms. Another advantage of Physx is that you can use separate floating point processor (including independent physics accelerator card and GPU) for more complex operations, while reducing the burden of calculating CPU.

In NVIDIA's acquisition of AGEIA, PhysX physics acceleration NVIDIA announced that it will discontinue development of chip, instead, is built on the new PhysX driver CUDA2.0, GeForce8/9, and now GeForceGTX200 will support PhysX physics acceleration, its performance will meet the simple use of processor speed of more than 10 times.

NVIDIA has provided, in Beijing in 2008, September 16, 21, published when PhysX8.09.04 version, driver version 178.13, already fully supported on GeForce8/9 (which of course includes integrated video) DepartmentAccelerated PhysX physics column video card.

PhysX technology available in today's popular game and future game in real time, hyper-realistic game physics effects and environmental effects, the PC platform can give full play to the PhysX physics NVIDIAGPU technology to speed up particularly dynamic.