3 ms·
All these specialized co-processors make me a bit sad. I've already got a graphics card that can decode some video formats, but not new ones, and that will neve
by pkulak 6y ago
All these specialized co-processors make me a bit sad. I've already got a graphics card that can decode some video formats, but not new ones, and that will never change until it becomes e-waste. Now we get the same thing for image formats, ML, etc? And you're even more locked in to these co-processors since they use space that could have been used to have a dozen general purpose cores. So good luck ever watching a video that doesn't use a codec your hardware supports.
- amelius 6y agoI'd be ok with coprocessors if there was an easy way to swap them in and out.
- greyhair 6y agoA lot of modern hardware coprocessors are hybrid blocks that can be configured through firmware. You can dedicate a very small DSP with the block to feed and manage it. I haven't been involved in a new chip design in a few years, but a lot of specialized cores were vector processors (very narrowly defined vector processors). I don't know if that has changed. I find it surprising that you have a graphics card that won't decode new video formats, unless the vendor has completely abandoned support for it. I have never encountered a modern graphics card that wasn't completely configured and run with firmware.
- pkulak 6y agoMaybe I just don't pay attention, but I've never heard of new firmware going out to multi-year old graphics cards and adding new features. Sure it may be possible, but what company is going to go through the trouble of that?
- randerson 6y agoA lot fewer molecules of e-waste with the tiny SoC, at least.