Among the most exciting features in Microsoft Corp.’s recently
announced Windows 7 operating system is the ability it provides
software developers to create powerful new digital media applications
by harnessing the massive parallel processing power of NVIDIA GeForce
graphics processing units (GPUs). Windows 7 gives developers this
freedom through Microsoft’s new DirectCompute application programming
interface (API), which is being introduced as part of the Microsoft
DirectX 11 API.
“DirectCompute takes GPU computing from a niche to the mainstream by
making this potentially life-changing technology available to the
millions of users of the Windows 7 operating system,” said Rob Enderle,
principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “Using the GPU and the CPU as
co-processors has already yielded amazing results in fields such as
medical, geological and scientific research and will have a
transforming effect on consumer applications as well.”
“NVIDIA has demonstrated its commitment to GPU computing with the
announcement of the Fermi architecture,” said Mike Ybarra, general
manager of Windows Product Management at Microsoft. “Windows 7 and
DirectCompute will make it even easier for developers to create
innovative applications that take advantage of the GPU’s massively
parallel processing power.”
NVIDIA has worked closely with Microsoft on the development, testing
and validation of Microsoft DirectCompute. DirectCompute will be
distributed as part of the DirectX 11 API and is supported by NVIDIA’s
current lineup of DirectX 10 GPUs and upcoming DirectX 11 GPUs based on
NVIDIA’s recently announced NVIDIA Fermi Architecture.
Windows developers who are interested in learning more about
developing with DirectCompute and NVIDIA GPUs can get more information
at www.nvidia.com/directcompute.
Consumers already running a GeForce GPU with Windows 7 can download
the new WHQL-certified drivers supporting DirectCompute directly from www.nvidia.com/drivers.
