Page 1 of 1

NVIDIA:F*** YOU

PostPosted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 1:56 am
by pam
Most of you must already have seen the video and know why most linux users use AMD radeon
cards.
Dont get me wrong, formal support from both AMD and Nvidia for linux is excellent. Infact Nvidia is the only company that actually provides powerful graphics support for FreeBSD. Radeons do not support freebsd apart from the dilapidated gallium/llvmpipe.

Here is the legendary video from last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... ShbP3OpASA

Linus abused Nvidia for obvious reasons which makes optimizing the code difficult. Too many farce layers to deal with.

The simple reason for this hate is that Nvidia does NOT provide any open source support, unlike AMD.
But this does not deter Nvidia users. Majority of Nvidia GPU buyers have done so for features like CUDA, apart from the exceptional in game quality, video quality and frame rates.

Infact for FreeBSD, nvidia hardware is recommended so that you can run CUDA applications and write code for the same.

These feature sets are mostly used for parallel computational tasks on the grid network of BOINC. You keep your computer on and it will use Nvidia CUDA for studying protein synthesis using folding@HOME or searching for alien transmissions using SETI.

But still CUDA is a shut shop. Adhering to an industry standard that is non-compliant in making things easy for engineers to work with, dwarfs the intellectual capabilities. Not focusing too much on the ideas, but instead apply them.

OpenCL was born, and all thanks to Apple!! Yes, they formulated OpenCL.

OpenCL is a standardless API that allows to program CPU/GPU's for parallel workloads and shuttle data between them(APU's excel at this at hardware level). ALthough in a nascent stage, it has already shown to ridicule the linear brute force approach the way a CPU handles data. This is proved by the new AMD A10-6800k APU besting the core-i7 3770k in certain OpenCL apps. So basically this is swaying awaying from the x86 base that most code writers are familiar with.

To make things more easier, its easier to program OpenCL with high level languages without knowing discrete details of the hardware...To hell with hacking the hardware!

But here lies the true conundrum. Both Nvidia and AMD suport OpenCL. But OpenCL on AMD hardware is exponentially faster than any Nvidia solution. The difference between a cat and a lion.

If they dont want to provide a certain level of transparency, its Ok, but Nvidia must realize for them to triumph, OpenCL is the way. With AMD bagging the deal for the PS4 and Xbox720 with Sony and Microsoft, Nvidia better start seeing things as they are.

AMD supporting and banking on OpenCL and now unifying the global virtual video-game space, porting everything everywhere will require only changing a few lines of code here and there.

Re: NVIDIA:F*** YOU

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:34 am
by chris47
Daaaam pam you are mad LOL.. I have used Nvidia cards in all my builds. Why who really know, just when I first started to build pc I started using Nvidia. I guess it was because at the time, they were recommended to me from other pc users over Radeon.. I do know that in most Linux distros I have tired, it appears Nvidia drivers are harder to set up than Radeon, when first installing a Linux distro.. May be in the future I will buy a decent Radeon card...

Re: NVIDIA:F*** YOU

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 4:39 am
by pam
Radeons and GTX's can easily be exchanged for one another. There is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE. Quality are the same, drivers performance are the same , SLI-crossfire for linux is excellent, Nvidia also supports FreeBSD OS. etc etc..

THe biggest difference and abuse to Nvidia is because 1>they do not provide any 'open-source' support. 2>Really bad OpenCL support. Linux is very opencl friendly.

IF code is open, everyone can work and trust me AMD will have a hard time competing with Nvidia.

Re: NVIDIA:F*** YOU

PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:19 am
by sunnyx86
nVidia products are too expensive but durable. Performance is not worth the price you pay for. AMD products however are just too good.