Warp wrote:
> Chambers <ben### [at] pacificwebguycom> wrote:
>> One of the main reasons the switch was made from AGP to PCIe is that 
>> PCIe is bidirectional, allowing efficient communication in both 
>> directions.
> 
>   Compare the data transfer speed between the CPU and the FPU with the
> data transfer speed between the CPU and the GPU. Now consider the sheer
> amount of data which has to be transferred for a raytracer.
> 
>   Unless you can implement the raytracer as a shader, I don't think there
> can't be any advantage.
> 

Well, the whole point of CUDA and other such ventures is that you 
offload a program (not directly comparable to a shader, in this 
instance) or parts of one to the GPU, and it only returns the result.

In other words, POV-Ray wouldn't say to the GPU "Trace this ray, and now 
get this ray, and now do this texture..."  Rather, it would say "Here's 
this scene, here's the camera, now return the finished picture."

Unfortunately, the GPUs just aren't flexible enough yet.  However, 
within one or two more generations, they probably will be...

-- 
...Ben Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com

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