Putting that unused GPU back to work

calvinAnd · 10-30-07, 11:52 PM

I just got a new graphics card for my computer, but my motherboard also has an onboard GPU. Once I install my new card the onboard GPU won't be doing anything any more. Is there any way to take advantage of it and put it back to work? The GPU wouldn't even necessarily need to be doing graphics. There are a whole bunch of applications that could take advantage of the high floating point calculation throughput of GPUs.

Anyways, is there currently any way to do this? If not does anyone know if there is a reason why?

CaptNKILL · 10-31-07, 01:35 AM

I don't think you can do anything too useful with it really.

As for the why, its mostly because no one is programming anything to make use of them.

They said we'd be using graphics cards for physics but that really never materialized in any significant way.

I think the closest thing to what you're talking about us GPGPU, but i think its uses are generally pretty obscure and meaningless to most users.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPGPU

I'll admit, I don't know much about it. But if there were any good uses for secondary graphics chips, I'm sure it would be all over sites like nvnews.

calvinAnd · 11-02-07, 12:40 PM

Thanks for the response. This is exactly what I was looking for. Although, it doesn't look like this is a dead idea. Apparently nvidia is investing in gpgpu as are AMD and probably Intel. The problem right now is just that the gpu processors are highly constrained and optimized for graphics, so it's a bit difficult to perform general computation on them.

curaga · 01-02-08, 11:26 AM

Well, it's always nice to have more than one monitor

**XDanger** · 01-02-08, 03:03 PM

The x-fi chip is lazy also just making noises ,Lets put it to work down the mines or something.

seeker · 01-02-08, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by curaga

Well, it's always nice to have more than one monitor

Depending on the video card, you don't need more than one to have a second monitor.

curaga · 01-03-08, 10:03 AM

I didn't say so. But if you have a dual-output one, then three monitors it is

01-06-08, 10:41 PM

I tried dual monitors once and wasn't impressed. 19" and 24" didn't look very good.

**crainger** · 01-09-08, 04:17 AM

I'm tempted to get my old CRT out for dual monitors. Running Crysis at 1024x768 should be nice and smooth... :

:

10-30-07, 11:52 PM	#1
calvinAnd Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2	Putting that unused GPU back to work I just got a new graphics card for my computer, but my motherboard also has an onboard GPU. Once I install my new card the onboard GPU won't be doing anything any more. Is there any way to take advantage of it and put it back to work? The GPU wouldn't even necessarily need to be doing graphics. There are a whole bunch of applications that could take advantage of the high floating point calculation throughput of GPUs. Anyways, is there currently any way to do this? If not does anyone know if there is a reason why?

10-31-07, 01:35 AM	#2
CaptNKILL CUBE Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: PA, USA Posts: 18,844	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work I don't think you can do anything too useful with it really. As for the why, its mostly because no one is programming anything to make use of them. They said we'd be using graphics cards for physics but that really never materialized in any significant way. I think the closest thing to what you're talking about us GPGPU, but i think its uses are generally pretty obscure and meaningless to most users. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPGPU I'll admit, I don't know much about it. But if there were any good uses for secondary graphics chips, I'm sure it would be all over sites like nvnews. __________________ ---- Primary Rig ---- CoolerMaster 690 II Advance - Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 4.0Ghz + Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 6GB DDR2 @ 942Mhz 5-5-5-20 1.9v (2x1Gb Wintec AMPX PC2-8500 & 2x2Gb G.Skill PC2-6400) - EVGA Geforce GTX 470 @ 750/1500/1850 (1.050v) Sparkle Geforce GTS 250 1Gb Low-Profile (Physx) - Crucial RealSSD C300 64Gb SSD - Seagate 7200.12 500Gb SATA - Seagate 7200.10 320Gb SATA ASUS VW266H 25.5" LCD - OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU - ASUS Xonar DX - Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Surround - Windows 7 Professional x64 ---- HTPC ---- Asus M3A78-EM 780G - AMD Athlon X2 5050e 45W @ 2.6Ghz - 2x2GB Kingston PC2-6400 DDR2 - Sparkle 350W PSU Seagate 7200.10 320Gb SATA - Seagate 7200.10 250Gb SATA - Athenatech A100BB.350 MicroATX Desktop - Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic

11-02-07, 12:40 PM	#3
calvinAnd Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work Thanks for the response. This is exactly what I was looking for. Although, it doesn't look like this is a dead idea. Apparently nvidia is investing in gpgpu as are AMD and probably Intel. The problem right now is just that the gpu processors are highly constrained and optimized for graphics, so it's a bit difficult to perform general computation on them.

01-02-08, 11:26 AM	#4
curaga Hardcore Linuxist Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Finland Posts: 23	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work Well, it's always nice to have more than one monitor

01-02-08, 03:03 PM	#5
XDanger Whaaat? Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 5,674	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work The x-fi chip is lazy also just making noises ,Lets put it to work down the mines or something.

01-03-08, 10:03 AM	#7
curaga Hardcore Linuxist Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Finland Posts: 23	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work I didn't say so. But if you have a dual-output one, then three monitors it is

01-06-08, 10:41 PM	#8
methimpikehoses Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work I tried dual monitors once and wasn't impressed. 19" and 24" didn't look very good.

01-09-08, 04:17 AM	#9
crainger Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia Posts: 29,535	Re: Putting that unused GPU back to work I'm tempted to get my old CRT out for dual monitors. Running Crysis at 1024x768 should be nice and smooth... ::

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
GPU memory consumption, back buffer, Quadro	tdsussman	NVIDIA Linux	5	08-14-12 09:14 PM
Choosing The Right GPU To Take Adobe Workflows To The Max	News	Latest Tech And Game Headlines	0	05-29-12 05:40 PM
GTC Poster Session Shows Breadth of GPU Research	News	Latest Tech And Game Headlines	0	05-15-12 01:50 AM
GPU Tech Conference Off to a Fast Start in San Jose	News	Latest Tech And Game Headlines	0	05-14-12 05:00 PM
Thinking about switching back to Windows if I can't get this to work!!!	dungscooperdave	NVIDIA Linux	7	08-15-02 08:29 AM