Programming trend No. 11: GPUs trump CPUs
Was it only a few years ago that the CPU manufacturers created the chips that fetched the most money? Those days are fading fast as the graphics processors are now the most lustworthy. It's easy to find kids who will spend $300 on their entire computer and operating system, then $600 on a new video card to really make it scream.
The gamers aren't alone in their obsession with video cards. Scientists who need high-powered computation are reprogramming GPUs to analyze protein folding or guess the secrets of the smallest particles. Nvidia runs conferences for nongamers using the devices, and they're selling video cards by the palletload to scientists who want to build supercomputers. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, for instance, plans to put 18,000 Tesla GPUs from Nvidia into one room so that they can call it the fastest supercomputer. They're presumably going to build elaborate models for the Department of Energy, not to brag about the frame rate they get while playing Doom.
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