GPU vs. CPU

[aznstriker92]

Very controversial stuff going on right now. Fudzillas articles talk about Intel fighting with Nvidia/AMD.
Personally I think that GPUs should take over and not CPUs.
If All I have to buy is a good GPU then I can have the processing power and great graphics.
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/36390/118/1/1/
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6252&Itemid=1

[Eliot]

We have already shown the CPU is not that important compared to GPU:
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2489&Itemid=40&limit=1&limitstart=4

There will be a follow up article about it in some weeks.


best,

Eliot.

[aznstriker92]

What I was saying was about the take over b/w the 2.

[Jon]

Although I'd love to see the GPU eventually winning the controversy, I have a premonition that it's going to be the underdog (similarly to HD-DVD) in the situation, but it won't be entirely cut out of the computing process - it will just serve a different general purpose.  My guess is that the multicore CPUs after Larrabee will have around 32 to 64 cores, with a given section of them (1/4 or so) dedicated solely to ray tracing through parallel processing that is directly interlinked to the other main logic cores.  In effect, a GPU would be the device in a computing system that would "refine" the CPU processed graphics in a sense as to add depth of perception and realization.  So in theory, the computing system would be similar to that of the human mind, only in reverse order:

CPU (processes image through ray tracing and parallel processing techniques and sends to)  >>  GPU (which translates the image "realistically" by adding detail, texture, effects (non-physics related), and "perception" in a sense)

Would anyone agree with this, or am I just going crazy?  Can't really tell 

[aznstriker92]

Well I've heard a lot of raytracing and Larrabee but what exactly is raytracing? Is it a code or processing method?

[Jon]

Well I've heard a lot of raytracing and Larrabee but what exactly is raytracing? Is it a code or processing method?

Since I'm tired and the night is young, here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_tracing 

"Ray tracing is a general technique from geometrical optics of modeling the path taken by light by following rays of light as they interact with optical surfaces. It is used in the design of optical systems, such as camera lenses, microscopes, telescopes and binoculars. The term is also applied to mean a specific rendering algorithmic approach in 3D computer graphics, where mathematically-modelled visualisations of programmed scenes are produced using a technique which follows rays from the eyepoint outward, rather than originating at the light sources. It produces results similar to ray casting and scanline rendering, but facilitates more advanced optical effects, such as accurate simulations of reflection and refraction, and is still efficient enough to frequently be of practical use when such high quality output is sought. Ray tracing may also be applied in other areas of science and engineering, such as in the calculation of radio signal paths."