VGA cards as DSP module for VST effects?

[Compyfox]

Yup... as crazy as it sounds, there hovered a rumor around in the last 12 months that there was somebody who had the wild idea that VGA cards with (example) NVidia chipsets can be used as DSP card.

I mean... it's possible. While you use a sequencer and normal plugins (no 3D stuff) you can get easily away with 16MB (maybe +/-32MB on dualhead and 32bit by 1024x768+ for each screen) . If your card has (let's say) 256MB RAM, the rest of the RAM runs in idle mode because it has nothing to do in terms of 3D, but 2D.


As crazy as it sounds, but it could revolutionise the whole production possibilities. It's no DSP as Creamware or PowerCore where you have own RISC processors and made-for-this-system-only plugins, but a bridge in between. Best of both worlds.

So yeah... I want to get back on track and want to know if somebody heard more about this. Or if there're already beta drivers/tools for testing.

Anybody knows some facts or even where to get those tools (legally of course) - I'm in!


*using OS: Win2K, VGA: NVidia GeForce FX5700 w/256MB*

[kejkz]

http://www.bionicfx.com/

[Kingston]

It's not exactly revolutionary anymore. It's just that no one did a plugin implementation yet.

http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/brookgpu/

BrookGPU allows C-like programming pf GPUs. It's in the very beginning stages still but it's a promising development.

http://www.bionicfx.com/

They actually promised to deliver a reverb plugin, but the web site is as far as they got commercially.

http://www.gpgpu.org/

It's a nice collection of recent developements in running general DSP code in GPU's. You can find a working implementation of a reverb on a GPU in there. It's not a plugin, but at least it shows it's possible.

[EDIT]

here is the reverb, http://www.pjwstk.edu.pl/~s1525/


It looks like even microsoft is doing heavy duty research on GPU DSP acceleration nowadays (called Accelerator, unimaginatively), which should be a great thing for us.

[edoosx]

i tried this (for osx)
http://monalisa-au.org/plog/article.php?id=107
but all i got was some clipping/distortion... perhaps i missed something...

[Compyfox]

Hm... guess we only have to wait then as it seems. But I'm definitly looking forward to it. A couple of compressors running on my VGA card, or a VSTi over it? Or if somebody would code a module where you could "route" a VSTi (old, new, doesn't matter) over a VGA card, now that would be a nice start.

I'm curious who does the first step into this "realm".

[madbaron]

I can see it now...open the audio configuration screen in any host and not only be provided the ASIO or WDM audio driver choice, but also the DirectX or OpenGL audio processor choice.

Ever since BionicFX's vaporware statements last year I've pondered how great this would be.

[A3ntar]

BionicFX did update their website...at least that. I don't know how long it is going to take, but I am not holding my breath.

[djsubject]

i really hope thay pull this off in 2006!

its defently got my intrest!

Subz

[Kingston]

Or if somebody would code a module where you could "route" a VSTi (old, new, doesn't matter) over a VGA card, now that would be a nice start.

It's done already, and it's called the UAD1.

But yeah, directX/openGL equivalent DSP platform with support for the card of your choice would be nice.

And it will happen.

[fred2112]

WOW
I buy it .....sound so good for me

[Compyfox]

Wait I thought the UAD-1 is like a powercore... only "made-for-this" plugins and effects work. Unless somebody proves me wrong.

GPU DSP (VGA) would be more open especially for 3rd Party firms, don't you think?

[Alan]

With AMD X-2's around and Freeze and the latencey that external DSP introduces,not to mention stability issues of more than one Video card my interest has waned. Keep this in mind,the VGA bus is being eliminated as we speak so your Vid card will be sharing the PCI-E or X bus with everything including more Video cards for this proposal. No thanks. I wouldn't mind however,extra DSP chips built in to motherboards that ran off it's own bus and managed by the chipset instead of the chipset thinking it's managing extra Vid cards.

[AndrewW]

Only if Uaudio implemented a new GPU into it's UAD1 card. That would make it so much more powerful.
Hopefully Uaudio is gonna make a more powerful UAD1 card one day, with different interface than the outgoing PCI.

In the meantime I'm enjoying my 2 UAD1 cards

[DevonB]

Keep this in mind,the VGA bus is being eliminated as we speak so your Vid card will be sharing the PCI-E or X bus with everything including more Video cards for this proposal. No thanks.

VGA bus? I take it you mean AGP? Either way, while you're correct on PCI-X sharing the bus, PCI-e, on the other hand, is a direct point-to-point bus that does NOT share with other devices. SATA is also doing the same thing in its point-to-point architecture.

From Wikipedia -

The PCIe link is built around a bidirectional, serial (1-bit), point-to-point connection known as a "lane". This is in sharp contrast to the PCI connection, which is a bus-based system where all the devices share the same unidirectional, 32-bit, parallel bus.

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

Devon

[Alan]

VGA bus? I take it you mean AGP?

Yeah,my bad(havent slept yet)

PCI-e, on the other hand, is a direct point-to-point bus that does NOT share with other devices.

But the chipset allocates X amount of bandwidth for PCI-E,whereas a seperate built in DSP would have it's own allocated bandwidth.