GPU Compute

The AI revolution has been significantly propelled by the advent of GPU computing, marking a transformative era in data processing. Originally crafted for gaming, graphics chips have transitioned into versatile tools for various general-purpose tasks. In the domain of artificial intelligence (AI), GPUs excel due to their parallel processing capabilities—think of a CPU with thousands of cores. Efficient handling of calculations accelerates AI tasks like machine learning and deep learning, leading to faster training and inference. Consequently, GPUs are the preferred choice for tasks involving artificial intelligence, leveraging their parallel architecture to significantly enhance overall performance and computational efficiency compared to CPU-centric approaches.

This is our first round of testing for GPU compute, we will definitely look at improving our test suite from time to time, also to accommodate changes in the software ecosystem, like the move to unified APIs. Right now every vendor requires you to use their own proprietary interfaces for best performance, but this will certainly change soon.

Rendering

Blender is a versatile, free and open-source 3D creation suite that provides users with powerful tools for modeling, animation, rendering, sculpting, and more. Its user-friendly interface, coupled with a robust feature set, caters to both beginners and professionals in the realms of animation, visual effects, and game design. Blender has full support for GPU-accelerated rendering, through NVIDIA OptiX/AMD HIP/Intel oneAPI.

AI Image Creation

Stable Diffusion and AI-driven image generation represent groundbreaking advancements in the realm of computer vision and artificial intelligence. These advancements reshape image editing, art, and simulation, pushing the limits of what computer-generated imagery can achieve. We used the Automatic 1111 GUI with Stable Diffusion 1.5 to request ten "dog swimming in water" images at a resolution of 512x512 with 50 steps, the reported number is images generated per minute.

AI Video Processing

Topaz Video AI is a cutting-edge video enhancement software that leverages advanced artificial intelligence algorithms for refining video quality. You may use various AI models to upscale low-resolution videos, reduce noise, and improve details. For our testing we enhanced a 1080p video to 4K with 60 frames per second.