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ATI PR

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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ATI Technologies announced today a Stream Computing initiative that includes Folding@Home support with its GPU’s with Stanford University. For more information please visit:



ATI pioneers new Stream Computing technology

http://ir.ati.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=910519&highlight =



Stanford University’s Folding@home uses ATI stream computing to squeeze three years worth of disease research into just one month

http://ir.ati.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=910520&highlight =



ATI launches enterprise stream computing initiatives

http://ir.ati.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=910521&highlight =



Or visit:



ftp.ati.com

Username: ATIStreamComputing

Password: ATIStreamComputing





If you would like to request an interview with ATI or any of their partners please contact:



Samantha Chen

Highroad Communications
 
Looks like Monday for more info etc.

VJ said:
We are making a press announcement this morning pacific time, but we will likely only release all the info (updated FAQ, HOWTO, beta code) on Monday Oct 2. Note that the Oct 2 launch is an open beta launch, which means that we are seeking more testers, with the knowledge that the code may not be perfect. We have been extensively testing in house and with a closed alpha release, so it should behave reasonably well.

Only 19xx cards referanced in PR from my quick read.
 
marty9876 said:
Looks like Monday for more info etc.

Only 19xx cards referanced in PR from my quick read.
Yup, looks like only the X19x0 line is applicable. I wonder what'll happen to ATi's inventory of those cards starting Monday--I imagine there might be a whole lot of people who would buy a X1900 without blinking for this.
 
when will the GPU client be available for download?

will it interfere with my gaming on the same GPU?
 
I think any x1x00 series (1600, 1800, 1900) should be applicable.. as the architecture is the same other than the number of pixel pipelines. Their test farm is only 1900xt/xtx series cards though, which is what they've referenced to repeatedly.
 
I live about 4 hours away from ATi's HQ.. almost tempted to take a daytrip up there for their next PR conference. :D, maybe they'll give me a goody bag with a few x1950s in it :D
 
I hate to make a reference to *cough* tom's hardware in hardforums.. but Toms just published an article on the GPU client from stanford, and part of it says:

The group has also improved the software algorithm of Folding@Home, which he expects will bring another 10 - 15x improvement

Does this mean a new optimized CPU client aswell? I'm so excited about this entire thing I just want all the info I can get my hands on!!! A faster CPU client is more than welcomed of course! Come to think of it, it may not even require a new client download, as the cores themselves would be where the optimization would occur - right?

Read the entire article here.

 
If you read more carefully, the 10-15x improvement applies to GPU folding's advantage over regular CPUs--so instead of 20-40x improvement over CPUs, you get 500x improvement. :eek: I'm thinking something may have been lost in translation there, so here's the actual quote from the article:
the article said:
The group has also improved the software algorithm of Folding@Home, which he expects will bring another 10 - 15x improvement for a total maximum performance increase of about 500x - when ATI's graphics cards are used. However, Pande conceded that the graphics may only be able to deliver a sustained 100 GFlops of speed.
Also interesting:
the article said:
At this time, the beta client is limited to the X1900 series of graphics cards; the researcher said that X1800 cards will be supported soon.
So it looks like X1800's will also be invited to the party.
 
I don't have time to look right now, but whats the baseline cost on these cards?
 
KodiakStar said:
I don't have time to look right now, but whats the baseline cost on these cards?

200 bucks then up I think.
 
Hrm.

So much for buying the latest and greatest nvida a while back :p

maybe i'll find someone who wants to trade.
 
KodiakStar said:
Hrm.

So much for buying the latest and greatest nvida a while back :p

maybe i'll find someone who wants to trade.
Here I am wondering the same thing...
 
AtomicMoose said:
Anyone here want to do this? I think it would be a neat feature here in DC to get an interview with ATI on the new GPU client.

Pics! Maybe she is hot!!!!

Go for it Moose, no time myself.
 
AtomicMoose said:
Anyone here want to do this? I think it would be a neat feature here in DC to get an interview with ATI on the new GPU client.

1 vote for Moosie
 
What a great idea, Moosie!

Good luck and best wishes. Don't ask for a picture. That is rude and inappropriate.

And don't give her your picture. We want the interview... we don't want you to scare her. :D
 
AtomicMoose said:
Anyone here want to do this? I think it would be a neat feature here in DC to get an interview with ATI on the new GPU client.

I would be happy to take interview questions put together by the [H]orde. You guys organize them and decide what should be asked and we will get it to them and hopefully publish on it.
 
Thanks a ton Kyle!

I'll start.. I have 3 questions. ;)

How did this whole partnership between ATi and Stanford come about? <- or generally, a background story, "how the concept of GPU folding was born" would be nice, at least in this case from the perspective of ATi.

Have their been specific ATi driver optimizations planned to assist the performance of FAH? <- and furthermore, (this may be beyond the scope of her knowledge as it's a technical question) what types of optimizations have been made.

Does ATi see General Purpose computing on a GPU changing any fundamentals of how GPUs are designed on an architectural level, and have ATi's current lineup of products been designed with this emerging market in mind to any extent?

Hope an interview can be arranged, cant wait to read it, thanks again Kyle, you totally rock!
 
How about the r600? when is it going to be available. I don't know, but maybe you guys already know the answer.

Seems like the R600 will be a better folder.
 
I just hope that I can use my X1600Pro I just bought to fold. That would rock.
 
While the Open Beta is set to make use of the high end ATI Cards, are there any future plans to include graphics cards by other brands such as NVIDIA?

Will there be similar options for the GPU client to run the client in an "idle" mode on the video cards, and throttle down when needed. Additionally, will the client be able to monitor the GPU Core Heat Temps and shut F@H GPU client down if needed?
 
It doesn't look like there's a large push to get it working on nVidia parts at this point--the combination of shader units and branching ability on the ATi cards make a huge difference.
 
This is GREAT news!

Enter the GPU

Modern GPUs such as the R580 core powering ATI's X19xx series have upwards of 48 pixel shading units, designed to do exactly what the Folding@Home team requires. With help from ATI, the Folding@Home team has created a version of their client that can utilize ATI's X19xx GPUs with very impressive results. While we do not have the client in our hands quite yet, as it will not be released until Monday, the Folding@Home team is saying that the GPU-accelerated client is 20 to 40 times faster than their clients just using the CPU. Once we have the client in our hands, we'll put this to the test, but even a fraction of this number would represent a massive speedup.

Unfortunately for home users, for the time being, the number of those who can help out by donating their GPU resources is rather limited. The first beta client to be released on Monday only works on ATI GPUs, and even then only works on single X19xx cards. The research group has indicated that they are hoping to expand this to CrossFire-enabled platforms soon, along with less-powerful ATI cards.

The situation for NVIDIA users however isn't as rosy, as while the research group would like to expand this to use the latest GeForce cards, their current attempts at implementing GPU-accelerated processing on those cards has shown that NVIDIA's cards are too slow compared to ATI's to be used. Whether this is due to a subtle architectural difference between the two, or if it's a result of ATI's greater emphasis on pixel shading with this generation of cards as compared to NVIDIA we're not sure, but Folding@Home won't be coming to NVIDIA cards as long as the research group can't solve the performance problem.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2849&p=3
Buy only ATI X19xx based GPU's! ;)
 
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