gpu

Microsoft explains how Windows 8 smokes Windows 7

Microsoft spelled out acceleration improvements in Windows 8, in a blog post Monday. Needless to say, Microsoft says the overall experience is a lot snappier.

The latest Building Windows 8 entry, penned by Rob Copeland, the group program manager at Microsoft's graphics team, is titled Hardware accelerating everything: Windows 8 graphics.

Some context is first provided at the top in order to illustrate how Window 8 "builds on the well-established foundations of DirectX graphics" in Windows 7.

In Windows 7, we expanded the capabilities of DirectX to provide a common hardware-accelerated graphics platform for a broader range … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week readers wrote in with questions about Wi-Fi signal transmission through glass, syncing documents between two systems, an external drive no longer mounting on any system, and how one would go about upgrading the video card on a MacBook Pro. We welcome views from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, post them in the comments!

Question: Wi-Fi signal transmittance through glass MacFixIt reader David asks:

To what extent does a glass window weaken a Wi-Fi signal? I … Read more

Intel not joining graphics chip alliance

Intel will not join a chip-related alliance aimed at making it easier for software developers to take advantage of the compute power locked up in graphics silicon.

Advanced Micro Devices, ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek Inc., and Texas Instruments announced the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation on Tuesday.

Here's how Lisa Su, an AMD senior vice president, described it in a phone interview with CNET.

"The point is, even if you put a really powerful CPU next to a really powerful GPU, if these [chips] don't interact and the applications don't know when it's better to … Read more

Nvidia accelerates gaming in the cloud

Nvidia announced graphics-chip based cloud tech today, claiming to deliver fast gaming to almost any device.

"GeForce GRID represents a massive disruption in how games are delivered and played," said Phil Eisler, general manager of cloud gaming at Nvidia, in a statement.

The trick is to power the games remotely with brawny servers that tap into Nvidia's new Kepler graphics processing units (GPUs).

Each Kepler chip has 3,072 Nvidia "CUDA" processor cores and packs 4.7 teraflops (trillion floating point operations per second) of 3D shader performance. Shaders are instrumental in rendering realistic effects … Read more

What kind of heat is the future 15-inch MacBook packing?

The upcoming 15-inch MacBook is expected to pack plenty of brawny silicon despite its svelte dimensions. With speculation on its specs rife, it's time to take a crack at what may be under the hood.

Graphics: Apple's redesigned MacBook may return to Nvidia graphics, as reported by 9to5Mac.

That would be the first time Apple has opted for Nvidia in a MacBook since earlier versions of the Air. Current 15-inch MacBook Pros have ATI graphics chips, and MacBook Airs sport integrated Intel graphics processing units (GPUs).

Note that a report back in March said Nvidia wouldn't make … Read more

AMD adds new mobile graphics chips: Radeon 7700, 7800, 7900

With Intel's new Ivy Bridge third-generation Core i-series CPUs dominating the PC component discussion this week (or really, the last several months), it would be easy to miss today's announcement from AMD about new GPU parts.

AMD's Radeon graphics line, formerly branded under the ATI name, is found in many high-end laptops, including HP's Envy line and Apple's MacBook Pro. The current HD7000 series is now being expanded to include the HD7700M, 7800M, and 7900M.

AMD promises several new features from these updated GPUs, including smoother switching between integrated and discrete graphics. Rival Nvidia has … Read more

Nvidia to debut GTX 690 GPU soon?

Graphics processor giant Nvidia has posted on Facebook a shadowy image of its "eye" logo on a graphics card processor (or other related chip) with the decree: "It's coming."

A stream of rumors began to flow after the cryptic Facebook posting by Nvidia, but PC enthusiast blog SweClockers wrote that several independent, reputable sources say the upcoming Nvidia announcement coincides with the anticipated launch of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 690, a dual-core graphics card that employs two very powerful GK104 graphics processing units.

The Swedish blog mentions that the GTX 690 release falls between April 30 and May 5, a period directly after the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge chips that emphasize graphics and multimedia processing.

(Via Kotaku)… Read more

Nvidia: Smartphone graphics to best Xbox 360 by 2014

For now, mobile devices still can't match game consoles in graphics quality. Nvidia thinks that could change, and soon.

The company last night sent over a slide to enthusiast site Anandtech charting the graphics performance progress across the console, PC, and mobile markets. And although PCs will continue to stand above the fray, Nvidia believes that by 2014, mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC) GPUs will offer better graphics performance than does the Xbox 360. In 2013, the mobile chips could match Microsoft's console.

Nvidia's findings -- which, while listed on the slide as "console," only examined the … Read more

Will skinny MacBooks get beefy graphics?

Will Apple put brawny graphics in its upcoming lean laptops? One chip site claims it's not looking good.

A chip-centric site is dropping not-so-subtle hints that some of Apple's upcoming thin laptops may be bereft of a separate graphics chip.

Today, Apple's thinnest laptop line, the MacBook Air, comes with stock Intel graphics silicon, built right into the processor. But that hasn't always been the case. First, a little history.

Gen 1 (early 2008): Intel Core 2 Duo with Intel X3100 graphics. Despite a stunning design, the first Air ran hot, didn't have great battery … Read more