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S3 Jumps On GPGPU Bandwagon

Posted by Soulskill on from the trying-to-get-their-groove-back dept.

arcticstoat writes "It's sometimes easy to forget that the PC graphics market isn't owned by ATI and Nvidia, and the company that first gave us 3D acceleration, S3, is very much still around. So much so, in fact, that it's now even developed its own GPGPU technology. S3 claims that its Chrome 400 chips can accelerate gaming physics, HD video transcoding/encoding and photo enhancement. To demonstrate the latter, S3 has released a free download called S3FotoPro, which enhances color clarity and reduces haze in photos. However, the company hasn't yet revealed whether it plans to support OpenCL in the future." The Tech Report also points out that this could allow S3's parent company, VIA, to compete with Intel and AMD in graphics processing technology.

10 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. not the first time we hear that S3 can compete... by squisher · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is definitely not the first time in recent years that we hear S3 can compete with ATI and Nvidia again. As much as I'd like to see that, I certainly won't believe it until I see some decent independent benchmarks.

  2. what by Brian+Gordon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How is enhancing photos the business of a video card? That can be done in software at a perfectly acceptable speed without hardware acceleration.

    1. Re:what by Poltras · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not true. Some filters which took minutes in Adobe Photoshop CS2 only took half a second in CS4. Just doing a low-pass filter or a blur to get noise reduction would, of course, be doable by a single cpu correctly. But once you go professional, the time saved through using GPGPU is amazing, and means you can see results in realtime, so you can make adjustments much much faster.

      --
      Of Code And Men
  3. S3 by crawly · · Score: 3, Funny

    I vaguely remember them, and here I though they had gone out of business.

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  4. Easy to forget by Spatial · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's sometimes easy to forget that the PC graphics market isn't owned by ATI and Nvidia

    That's right. Intel own it too.

    1. Re:Easy to forget by binarylarry · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yep, Intel has like 60% market share.

      And they have the worse performance.

      Sounds like a perfect take over target for good old Microsoft, if I ever saw one.

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      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    2. Re:Easy to forget by Teun · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yep, Intel has like 60% market share.

      And they have the worse performance.

      And they have some of the easiest Linux support.

      --
      "The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
  5. VIA by blind+biker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Looks like VIA is really serious about this whole x86 business - they are the little (compared to Intel and AMD) thorn in the side to the big boys. With so many bald decisions regarding their own x86 roadmap, it's a miracle they're still around!

    What I mean is: AMD has been on the razor's edge for many years already, always in danger of unprofitability due to the thin or sometimes non-existent margins they had in order to keep with the top-dog. And AMD has a substantial slice of the x86 market, definitely way bigger than VIA. Imagine what sort of creative management it takes for VIA to stay competitive.

    S3's role in VIA's x86 plans could be crucial. I can definitely see them help VIA into the emerging netbook market. Cheap and low-power, is what VIA and S3 are good at, and that's exactly what netbooks are all about.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  6. Re:not the first time we hear that S3 can compete. by OrangeTide · · Score: 3, Informative

    Long ago they used to be, back when ATI and Trident were big names in the video card business.

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    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  7. Re:not the first time we hear that S3 can compete. by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Informative

    And S3 got bought by VIA, so yes.

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