Graphics State of the Union

Tom's Hardware has put out a nice recap of where computer graphics have been and where they are headed in the near future. While there are some definite shiny toys being displayed in new product releases and on the test beds, the overall problem of power consumption continues to rear its ugly head demanding attention. From the article: "while all of these things are interesting, exciting and new, the problem remains the same. Getting smaller and faster only makes sense if the design also is less demanding on the wall socket and cooling system. We all want different things when it comes to advancements, but first and foremost we need better power management. The bottom line is simple: graphics makers must take a step back from feature brainstorming until the power issue is resolved."

Comments

Re:Wrong.

[The Living Fractal]

Well, TBH the companies are beginning to focus on this sector (mobile).

A lot of the newer mobile GPU (like GeForce Go) are capable of greatly reducing their overall consumption when their total demand is low. They ramp up when needed.

Of course this doesn't address the fact that, when needed, and when ramped up, they consume a lot of power. To which I say, yes, we need more power efficient cards.

This is unique to the mobile sector for now, but of course will eventually find its way into the entire realm of graphics computing.

Unless of course we find a way to produce power more cheaply and abundantly than with hydrocarbons. In which case the only thing we'll care about then is cooling ;) But I suspect that could be a long ways off.

TLF