Tag Archives: gpu

MIPS Technologies Introduces a $99 Android 4.0 Tablet

December 7, 2011tabletainovo, Android, Cisco, CPU, gpu, Ice Cream Sandwich, mips technologies, Motorola, novo7, pioneer, Sony, Tablet, wifiJ Powers

If you wanted a $99 tablet, you would wait for the HP fire sales of the TouchPad, or buy a no-name brand tablet that had a low end processor and no memory. But MIPS Technologies has announced their entry into the market – a $99 tablet that can run Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

You might have MIPS technology in your home already. The MIPS processor is what powers TVs, DTV boxes, and other appliances from Sony, Pioneer, Motorola, and Cisco (Linksys).

Now, it’s ready to enter in the mobile market with the new tablet. The first one, a 7″ tablet created by Ainovo; the NOVO7 runs using a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) at 444MHz. The processor is a 1GHz single core, but using a technology called XBurst. Called JZ4770, it’s MIPS32, 65 nanometer architecture. The processor notes it can show 2D or 3D video in 1080p, with a low power consumption (less than 250mW).

Unfortunately, the unit is also sold out at this time.

“The openness of Android is enabling a new level of connectedness and interaction between devices and between people across the globe,” said Sandeep Vij, president and CEO, MIPS Technologies. “We are excited to be a part of the Android ecosystem delivering on that vision. We applaud Ingenic’s accomplishment in developing this new high-performance, feature-rich Android 4.0 tablet, and offering it at a price point that makes it widely accessible. We look forward to teaming with Ingenic as it continues to develop MIPS-Based mobile innovations.”

Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google joined in on the praise:

“I’m thrilled to see the entrance of MIPS-Based Android 4.0 tablets into the market. Low cost, high performance tablets are a big win for mobile consumers and a strong illustration of how Android’s openness drives innovation and competition for the benefit of consumers around the world.”

8″ and 9″ form factors will be available soon. All versions include support for WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.3 and microSD, as well as 3D graphics (1080p video decoding) and dual front/rear cameras (the NOVO7 has a 2MP rear, VGA face camera system).

The age of the “throw-away” tablet could be coming sooner than you think.

Intel Builds the GPU into the CPU on Core

January 26, 2011ces, Gaming, Intel, Special Mediaces, core, CPU, Gaming, gpu, Graphics, i3, i5, i7, IntelAndrew

Jeffrey Power talks to Mike Martin of Intel, which announced the incorporation of the Intel graphics processor (the GPU) onto the CPU across the whole of the Core range (i3, i5, i7).

The stand at CES had an impressive artistic display showing off the power of the new Core processors, which you can see in the video.

Available now – look for the Intel kink (the yellow branding tag) on the packaging.

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of Geekazine.

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Bringing the GPU to the Cloud

December 1, 2010Information3D, animation, bluegfx, gpu, NVIDIA, peer 1, renderingAndrew

PEER 1 and bluegfx have announced a partnership that brings the GPU to the cloud, giving bluegfx’s customers access to high-powered graphics on pay-per-process basis.

Using NVIDIA’s Fermi-based Tesla GPU’s and RealityServer hosted in PEER 1’s global data centres, bluegfx’s customers in the games, design, architectural, film, broadcast and education industries will benefit from high performance 3D web services. It delivers a 3D rendering and animation package that works remotely over the Internet onto the GPU cloud to demonstrate the concept of remote hybrid computing, with the GPU processing being done off the PC.

Hosting the GPUs and software within the cloud simplifies customer implementation and provides an inexpensive entry point for new users. Businesses only pay for the processing they need and can upgrade or downgrade as required.

Amanda Dunn, Cloud GPU Manager EMEA, PEER 1 Hosting adds: “We have the only hosted NVIDIA GPU service, which brings simple, cost-effective graphical processing power to the media industry on a pay-as-you-use basis. bluegfx has excellent experience in rich media, and working together we can offer high performance computing in a variety of areas such as rendering, transcoding and modelling.”

The move of the GPU to the cloud seems to be popular – Amazon and NVIDIA announced a similar service earlier in the month. It certainly sounds like a great idea – if you need to do 3D rendering, don’t buy expensive GPUs but instead use the pay-per-process 3D web services. Obviously some GPU processing doesn’t need to happen in real-time, e.g rendering a special effects sequence, but would it be possible to use a tablet to present a 3D model in real-time, with all the hard work being done in the data centre? If it was possible over Wi-fi or 4G data speeds, I can think of some pretty amazing applications, particularly in the medical space.