View Single Post
Old 10-20-2012, 07:32 AM   #1
Stretto
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 147
Default DAW's using GPU?

Is this on the near horizon? GPU's could speed up audio processing by several orders of magnitude and if some method of serializing and paralleling audio processing units(like vst's or rather smaller more efficient algorithmic processing functions) then I would imagine DAW's would almost never have cpu issues. Think of running all your VST and VSTi's but still only use 10% of your cpu!!!! You could add another gfx card and it would be like putting in 30 cpu's.


GPU processing seems like the future and what little I have looked at latest has impressed the hell out of me. (I remember doing nbody simulations on a 486 and couldn't even get 1 fps with just a few bodies. Now with gpu's you can get 40k+ at 30fps on the average system. (And are systems that can do 100's of millions in real time)

While one could argue that audio is not as intensive as graphics and it's not needed, that is rather ignorant since it's there to be used and will only improve the situation.

MS has come out with many interfaces for the gpu that abstract the hardware. I know VST's can do it themselves using whatever tech they want but if some new method(similar to JS) but using similar techniques could be used then running out of cycles would probably be a think of the past(or open the door up to amazing fx and vsti's similar to how gpu's have revolutionized graphics in the last decade).

Also, with things like C++ AMP, which is a library to use the GPU quite easily, and some sort of change from VST's to a more modular and scripted like fx there is no end to what could be done. Essentially what I'm thinking of is where each vst is sort of like a mathematical function that is composed to form more complex algorithms that can be put in a single gpu shader(or, if need be, split up) which would run at 100 to 1000 times faster than the cpu. (effectively reducing the your current cpu usage by that factor) Accelerator is a library for .NET which essentially takes functions and composes shader algorithms from them. Since a vst is essentially just an algorithm, a similar approach could be used.

Anyways, just thoughts... I think many people would be surprised to learn just how much power their computer has that is not being used. Just imagine no latency issues!! EVER!!!!! (within reason
Stretto is offline   Reply With Quote