NVIDIA 1180 Almost Here…

We had rumors for months as to what the next NVIDIA card would be, when it would release, and what it would cost. But, we are getting closer to a possible release. NVIDIA only goes so long before they release a new card. So…

Ray Tracing is a way of rendering a scene. Its big advantage is in rendering very realistic images. For instance, most of an Ikea catalog is made from rendered images that for a long time I thought were RL photos.

The reason it isn’t used so much in games is the cost of rendering the images. So, software like AutoDesk’s AutoCAD use it as real time rendering isn’t needed. The primary task is prototype product images, pictures of products not yet existing in RL. Only within the design process… a computer.  Making it more of a snapshot thing than a  movie camera.

NVIDIA adding in a Ray Trace feature will being higher quality graphics to more games. Less time will be spent calculating the effect of lights and shadows.

For use in Second Life it isn’t going to be a big plus or even a change. The SL render engine is required to support older systems. So, adding a ray trace feature to the engine is not going to be a high priority, if it is even a consideration.

However, the card will be faster and likely have faster video memory.

NVIDIA 1180 Rumors

The release date is the big rumor. It ranges from July to September 2018.

It also looks like NVIDIA may be the only manufacturer releasing a major video card in 2018. The collection of information available as of June 2nd, 2018 is in this nerdy video.

The TL:DR take away is it will be the best card of 2018 (…is that because it is the ONLY card?), pricy, somewhat faster but no one is for sure, will use the newest GDDR6 VRAM which is in short supply… But, this is only speculation even when based on educated guesses.

From an earlier video we get more specific details and for the visually oriented (aren’t all SL peeps visually oriented?) it is in an easier to compare format. Continue reading

SL Third-Party Developers Meeting 2017 w/14

Pantera Północy has his 30+ minute video of the 4/7 meeting posted. I’m just getting around to watching it.

Viewer Pipeline

Maintenance Viewer – No new news.

Voice Viewer – Vivox is not providing changes for Linux so Lab is not changing their viewer, which is mostly unsupported by the Lab in any event.

On a better note, the Lab has given up the idea of disabling viewers with older voice packages. Continue reading

NVIDIA Driver 378.66 Released

SL users have suffered from a problem with the NVIDIA driver, a blue colored world. I haven’t seen the problem, except in pictures. Whether you see the problem or not depends on your graphics settings. Having ALM enabled seems to eliminate the problem. So, while I can’t say this new driver version fixes the problem, it is worth a try.

Version 378.66 released 2/13. Download.

Nvidia Titan-X Pascal

August 2, 2016 Nvidia released their top of the line video card the Titan-X. There is a previous generation Titan-X. To distinguish between the previous gen and the current generation we have to include the architecture descriptor; Maxwell (previous) or Pascal (new).

How much faster is this Titan-X Pascal than the previous one? Almost twice as fast.

You can see the card is about 30% faster than the GTX1080.  Continue reading

Nvidia vs AMD: Serious Problem

In the last 10 minutes or so of the Third Party Developers’ Meeting the problem with AMD video cards problems came up.

It seems especially the R series of video cards (RX480 etc.) have a problem with OpenGL. See: BUG-20057Visual Artifacts with ALM enabled on some AMD graphics cards.

AMD Screen Artifact - No Fix

AMD Screen Artifact – No Fix

This bug is dependent on screen size. So, you may be able to escape it by changing your viewer window size or screen resolution.

There is a thread in the AMD forum about the problem. It is way techy. See: OpenGL display artifact on W7100. Continue reading

What is the 2016 Titan X Pascal?

A few days ago NVIDIA released the GTX1060. The 1060 is the mid-range video card for gamers. The GTX1080 has been out for some time and it was the top end video graphics card for gamers. Now 25% faster than the 1080 is NVIDIA’s 2016 Titan X (Pascal) Video Card nearing its release date, August 2, 2016. (NowInStock)

2016 Titan X - Coming 8/2/2016

2016 Titan X – Coming 8/2/2016

The cost of a GTX1080 is in the US$700 to $800 range. The 2016 Titan X is rumored to have a MSRP of $1,200. That is 50% more in cost for 25% more in performance. Not the most GPU per dollar but, it is fast. For the enthusiast this is sort of like comparing a Geo-Metro to a Farrari using cost per pound (kilogram) or top speed. Incomplete comparison. Continue reading