NVIDIA's Fermi: Architected for Tesla, 3 Billion Transistors in 2010
by Anand Lal Shimpi on September 30, 2009 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Efficiency Gets Another Boon: Parallel Kernel Support
In GPU programming, a kernel is the function or small program running across the GPU hardware. Kernels are parallel in nature and perform the same task(s) on a very large dataset.
Typically, companies like NVIDIA don't disclose their hardware limitations until a developer bumps into one of them. In GT200/G80, the entire chip could only be working on one kernel at a time.
When dealing with graphics this isn't usually a problem. There are millions of pixels to render. The problem is wider than the machine. But as you start to do more general purpose computing, not all kernels are going to be wide enough to fill the entire machine. If a single kernel couldn't fill every SM with threads/instructions, then those SMs just went idle. That's bad.
GT200 (left) vs. Fermi (right)
Fermi, once again, fixes this. Fermi's global dispatch logic can now issue multiple kernels in parallel to the entire system. At more than twice the size of GT200, the likelihood of idle SMs went up tremendously. NVIDIA needs to be able to dispatch multiple kernels in parallel to keep Fermi fed.
Application switch time (moving between GPU and CUDA mode) is also much faster on Fermi. NVIDIA says the transition is now 10x faster than GT200, and fast enough to be performed multiple times within a single frame. This is very important for implementing more elaborate GPU accelerated physics (or PhysX, great ;)…).
The connections to the outside world have also been improved. Fermi now supports parallel transfers to/from the CPU. Previously CPU->GPU and GPU->CPU transfers had to happen serially.
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SiliconDoc - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
Well that's quite a compliment, thank you.Since you pretend to be a Kingslayer, I have to warn you, you have failed.
I am King, as you said, and in this case, your dullard's, idiotic attempt at another red raging rooster "silence job", has utterly failed.
Now, did you see that awesome closeup of TESLA ? You think that's carbon fiber at the bracket end ? Sure looks like it.
I wonder why ati only has like "red" "red" "red" "red" and "red" cards, don't you ?
I mean I never really thought about it before, but it IS LAME. It's like another cheapo low rent cost savings QUACK from the dollar undenominated lesser queendom of corner cutting, ati.
--
Gee, thank you for the added inspiration, as you well have noticed, the awful realities never mentioned keep coming to light.
At least one of us is actually thinking about videocards.
Not like you'll ever change that trend, so the King's Declaration is: EPIC FAIL !
tamalero - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
hu.. my 3870 from visiontek had black pbc :|SiliconDoc - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
Well that's actually kinda cool, but was the rest of it covered in that sick ati red ? That card is a heat monster with it's tiny core, so we know it was COVERED in fannage and plastic, unless it was a supercheap single slot that just blasted it into the case.BTW, in order to comment you've exposed another notch in your red fannage purchase history.
tamalero - Friday, October 2, 2009 - link
wait.. WHAT? o_Oyou dont make any sense.
silverblue - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
There's an nVidia card sat on a desk at work. It's got a red PCB.SiliconDoc - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
Yes, once again you made my point for me, and being so ignorant you failed to notice ! I mean do you guys do this on purpos, or are you just that stupid ?If you have a red nvidia card on the desk at work, that shows nvidia is flexible in color schemes, unlike 'red 'red' red red red red red rooster cards !
You do realize you made an immense BLUNDER now, don't you ?
You thought I meant the color RED was awful.
lol
Man you people just don't have sense above a tomato.
silverblue - Friday, October 2, 2009 - link
Just because the reference cards are red, doesn't mean the manufacturers have to make them so.In fact, ASUS released a 4890 with a black PCB.
You've now descended from arguing about the length of the card and the power of its GPU to the colour of the PCB. Considering it's under a damned cooling solution, how does this matter?
engineer1 - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
Anand hates Nvidia because they competed against his former lover AMD, and compete against his current lover Intel. Anand you are such a rotten spoiled brat. Since this website fell into your lap you could at least make an effort to act responsibly. Have you EVER held a job working for someone else? I doubt it. And you should ban the other spoiled brats who apparently work for Microsoft and spend about 8 hours a day dominating everything posted on Dailytech such as TheIdiotNickDanger and Evil666. Bunch of Cretians.gx80050 - Friday, October 2, 2009 - link
Die painfully okay? Prefearbly by getting crushed to death in a
garbage compactor, by getting your face cut to ribbons with a
pocketknife, your head cracked open with a baseball bat, your stomach
sliced open and your entrails spilled out, and your eyeballs ripped
out of their sockets. Fucking bitch
I would love to kick you hard in the face, breaking it. Then I'd cut
your stomach open with a chainsaw, exposing your intestines. Then I'd
cut your windpipe in two with a boxcutter.
Hopefully you'll get what's coming to you. Fucking bitch
I really hope that you get curb-stomped. It'd be hilarious to see you
begging for help, and then someone stomps on the back of your head,
leaving you to die in horrible, agonizing pain. Faggot
Shut the fuck up f aggot, before you get your face bashed in and cut
to ribbons, and your throat slit.
papapapapapapapababy - Thursday, October 1, 2009 - link
lol, look at the finger, is this shoped or what! there is no card FAKE!
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3594/fermi1.jpg">http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3594/fermi1.jpg