The WAN Show - AMD and NVIDIA at it Again! - September 4, 2015

[LinusTech]

 

soundcloud link: https://soundcloud.com/thewanshow/the-wan-show-amd-and-nvidia-at-it-again-september-4-2015

 

Main News Topics

Introducing GDDR5X: Higher density & faster data rates

Source 1: linustechtips.com/introducing-gddr5x-higher-density… OP: HKZeroFive

Source 2: tomshardware.com/micron-launches-8gb…

• up until now 4Gb modules were the highest density available for GDDR5

• Micron has now developed chips with 8Gb density, effectively doubling the maximum memory capacity of upcoming graphics cards and other projects

• also possible to reduce the size of the board needed while maintaining the same amount of memory

• Micron also hinted that 8Gbps GDDR5 modules are in production (highest on the market now is 7Gbps)

• they see 8Gbps as the absolute peak for GDDR5 in its current form

• observed that command address protoling and array speed were the two limiting factors, but the interface has plenty of additional headroom

Cable-box rentals - a needless $19-billion industry

Source 1: linustechtips.com/cable-box-rentals-a-needless… OP: jos
Source 2: theatlantic.com/cable-boxes-fcc-television…

• average American households pay $231 per year on average for their cable box rental

• estimated 99% of cable customers in the US rented their equipment

• senators who commissioned a study on this market, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, note that this dependable revenue gives the cable industry little incentive to innovate and make better cable boxes

• most choose not to buy cable boxes outright because they come with a high upfront cost, can be “an IT nightmare” to set up, and require quite a bit of time to set up properly on your own

• speculators say that allowing 3rd party boxes to connect to cable networks would push innovation in the industry, as was the case in 1968 when 3rd party phone could be used on the AT&T network (previously customers had to lease landline phones from AT&T)

• others speculate that cable boxes should be eliminated entirely through the use of an app (seems to make the most sense)

• an app may even make cable seem more accessible to millennials (though it is doubtful at its still high monthly cost)

Netflix dropping thousands of titles

Source 1: linustechtips.com/netflix-dropping-thousands-of… OP: Proff

Source 2: bbc.com/technology-34110968

• not renewing their deal with distributor Epix

• removed titles include the Hunger Games and Transformers movies

• Netflix says they want to focus on exclusive content

• Netflix’s deal with Epix (reportedly worth $1 billion) runs until the end of September 2015, at which point the films will disappear from the service

• Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said “While many of these movies are popular, they are also widely available on cable and other subscription platforms at the same time as they are on Netflix and subject to the same drawn out licensing periods.”

• Hulu will be taking over the contract with Epix

• Netflix seems to planning on becoming a “premium” content distributor with a focus on exclusive and original content

• moving focus away from pleasing everyone to focusing on pleasing the customer looking for a “premium” experience

Oxide responds to AotS Conspiracies, Maxwell has no native support for DX12 A-sync

Source 1: linustechtips.com/oxide-responds-to-aots-conspiracies… OP: Briggsy

Source 2: overclock.net/various-ashes-of-the-singularity…

• Ashes of the Singularity demo was showing better performance in DX12 on AMD cards than Nvidia cards

• Oxide developer “Kollack” made a lengthy response on Overclock.net forums

• said they have been working openly with Nvidia, AMD, and Intel, but more with Nvidia in recent months

• “If ashes is biased, then any Unreal 4 game must be Nvidia biased as well”

• using the Nitrous Engine

• Nvidia DX11 performance has increased over the past few months, DX12 overhead is still better for Nvidia than it was on DX11 and has not been fully tweaked yet

• a separate rendering path was made at Nvidia’s request to disable asynchronous compute on Nvidia hardware

• enabling DX12 async compute for Maxwell was an unmitigated disaster

• Maxwell does not appear to support async computer natively for DX12 gaming (big issue as that is a big change in DX12 over DX11)

• Ashes of the Singularity only uses a “modest amount” of DX12 Async Compute

• Kollack “AFAIK, Maxwell doesn't support Async Compute, at least not natively. We disabled it at the request of Nvidia, as it was much slower to try to use it then to not. Weather or not Async Compute is better or not is subjective, but it definitely does buy some performance on AMD's hardware. Whether it is the right architectural decision for Maxwell, or is even relevant to it's scheduler is hard to say.”

• “Right now, I estimate about 20% of our graphics pipeline occurs in compute shaders, and we are projecting this to be more then 50% on the next iteration of our engine. In fact, it is even conceivable to build a rendering pipeline entirely in compute shaders. For example, there are alternative rendering primitives to triangles which are actually quite feasible in compute… If someone gave us a card with only compute pipeline, I’d bet we could build an engine around it which would be plenty fast… I’m not saying that the graphics pipeline will disappear anytime soon (or ever), but it’s by no means certain that it’s necessary. It’s quite possible that in 5 years time Nitrous’s rendering pipeline is 100% implemented via compute shaders.”

• compute shaders may be a big part of the future for game engines, and a lack of native asynchronous compute support could prove to be a big issue as DX12 evolves

• Kollack “We actually just chatted with Nvidia about Async Compute, indeed the driver hasn't fully implemented it yet, but it appeared like it was. We are working closely with them as they fully implement Async Compute. We'll keep everyone posted as we learn more.”

• Rob Hallock from AMD chimed in on the matter

• “Oxide effectively summarized my thoughts on the matter. NVIDIA claims "full support" for DX12, but conveniently ignores that Maxwell is utterly incapable of performing asynchronous compute without heavy reliance on slow context switching.” [very important, he is not saying that it is fully incapable of it, but that it will need outside assistance] “GCN has supported async shading since its inception, and it did so because we hoped and expected that gaming would lean into these workloads heavily. Mantle, Vulkan and DX12 all do. The consoles do (with gusto). PC games are chock full of compute-driven effects.”

Wikipedia editors turn to blackmail

Source 1: linustechtips.com/wikipedia-editors-turn-to… OP: Ezskills

Source 2: fudzill.com/wikipedia-editors-turn-to-blackmail

• editors at Wikipedia have allegedly started contacting small businesses and lesser-known celebrities, telling them that they have to “pay up or have their entries edited into oblivion”

• asked for hundreds of pounds to “protect” or update online pages about their business

• the editors claim a “lack of notability” to threaten the people or businesses about deleting their entries

• they offer their powers as editors to keep the page up (if the fee is met)

• the alleged offenders will contact the person or business in question “on behalf of Wikipedia” soon after their page is created

• Wikipedia has stated that this is a “coordinated group”

• they have since purged 381 “sock puppet” accounts and 210 articles created by them

• Wikipedia Foundation blog post stated “Neutrality is key to ensuring Wikipedia's quality. Although it does not happen often, undisclosed paid advocacy editing may represent a serious conflict of interest and could compromise the quality of content on Wikipedia.”

Unified Weapons Master offers high-tech gladiatorial combat

Source 1: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/443088-unified-we OP: CNET

Source 2: High-Tech gladiator fights approaching reality as UWM hits Indiegogo

Source 3: Unified Weapons Master Indiegogo Page

• 8 minute UWM demonstration video in Source 2

• Founders on mission to bring back weapons-based fighting, spent years figuring out how to make it work

• UWM has designed a special suit called the Lorica - a full body suit of armor that protects the wearer from weapon blows.

• Underneath the armor is an array of sensors - all of which are designed to detect when a given part of the armor is struck

• Uses combination of piezoelectric shock/vibration sensors and accelerometers to measure not only where the hit lands, but the severity as well

• Data collected by the suit and beamed wirelessly to a special ringside computer system that keeps the score

• Hoping to hold first live combat event in 2016

New Federal Requirements on Cellphone Surveillance (US)

Source 1: New Federal Requirements on Cellphone Surveillance OP: ABC News

Source 2: yahoo.com/new federal requirements on cellphone surveillance

Source 3: cnbc/New fedreal requirements on cellphone surveillance

• federal law enforcement routinely required to obtain search warrant before using secretive and intrusive cellphone-tracking technology

• policy represents first effort to create a uniform legal standard for federal authorities to use regarding this tech

• policy designed to address practices, and to try to promote transparency,consistency and accountability

• technology known as “Stingray” suitcase size device, sweeps up basic cellphone data from a neighborhood by tricking phones in the area to believe its a cell tower.

• helps them to determine the location of a phone without the user needing to make a call or send a text message

• the new policy requires a warrant in most cases, except for immediate emergencies, like a national security threat

• authorities will need to delete data that’s been collected, once they have the info they need

• american civil liberties union called the policy a “good first step”.

  • called on the justice department to close “remaining loopholes” such as one allowing for warrantless surveillance under undefined “exceptional circumstances”

EVGA will soon be entering the enthusiast gaming notebook market

Source 1: tweaktown.com/evga-soon-entering-enthusiast…

• notebook will be capable of heavy overclocking

• featuring new Skylake mobile CPU

• 17-inch, thin gaming notebook with “very high-end hardware”

• plan to launch late 2015 or early 2016

• 100% EVGA design from the ground up

• speculated that the K-series mobile SKU will be included, but that has not yet been confirmed

• if it does use the K-series chip, it will feature 4 cores/8 threads, stock clock of 3.2GHz with a 3.6GHz turbo and 45W TDP

• the thickness of the notebook is not expected to be an issue as Skylake has a “very good” power/performance envelope and the increased power from overclocking is minimal compared to previous generation CPUs

ASUS Refreshes ROG Laptops With G752 and Liquid Cooled GX700 Series

Source 1 - Linustechtips/asus-gx700-laptop-watercooled OP: Guru 3D

Source 2 - ASUS Refreshed ROG Laptops With G752 and Liquid Cooled GX700 Series

Source 3 - The latest ROG laptop comes with a giant water cooler

• GX 700 being teased, going to have overclockable Intel K-series Skylake processor, latest graphics from NVIDIA, a 17” display, and a GIANT water cooler system. Click HERE for picture

• Water cooler attachment, scarce details for the GX 700. Will be released in Q4 2015 but no word on final price

• G752

  • big difference is that the G752 will be offered with a 1920x1080 panel on the base model, but top model will offer 3840x2160 panel

Moto 360 (2015) Hands On: Design First, Tech Second

Source 1: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/442726-moto-360-2016-i OP: gizmodo

Source 2: Motorola Moto 360 (2015) review: the one to watch

• Motorola’s moved its one hardware button, which used to be station at the “3” position, to the “2” position. Doesn’t jam into your hand when you flex back anymore.

• pricing is $300-$430 depending on style and materials

• OS: Android Wear 1.3

• CPU: Snapdragon 400

• resolution: 360x325 and 360x330

• 4GB storage

• battery: 300mAh on 42mm, 400mAh on 46mm size

• sensors: Gyroscope, accelerometer, optical heart rate monitor, haptics engine, ambient light

• wristband buckles no longer connected directly to the watch, but can be removed and reattached

• available in US from Moto Maker

Samsung launches Car Mode for Galaxy app

Source 1: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/443268-samsung-launches-car-mode-for-galaxy/ OP: Gizmodo

Source 2: Android auto isn’t good enough for galaxy phones, samsung will push car mode instead

• Samsung has always offered a Car Mode on its phones, but it is being refined.

• Leading the way with Car Mode is that it offers a standalone mode for those situations where cars aren’t compatible, which is the most case since only newer cars offer

• Similar to Android Auto, use voice to read/reply to messages, control audio, and specify music you want to listen to

• Biggest change to Car Mode is the fact that it can connect wirelessly to cars via Mirrorlink

  • Mirrorlink is a universal technology that allows smartphones to display apps and services on infotainment systems. Honda, Toyota and VW are already offering cars with this technology

• Samsung keeping function limited, as you should keep your eyes on the road

Microsoft quietly rewrites its activation rules for Windows 10

Source 1: Microsoft quietly rewrites its activation rules for Windows 10

• With Windows 10, Microsoft has rewritten how it performs product activation on retail upgrades of Windows.

• Net result is that clean installs will be much easier -- but only after you get past the first one

• The biggest change of all is that the Windows 10 activation status is stored online.

  • After you successfully activate Windows 10 for the first time, the device will activate automatically in the future.

  • No product key required

  • Unwelcome change for those trying to do a clean install of Win 10 without understanding the new activation landscape

Acer 200Hz Ultrawide curved non-TN G-Sync monitor

Source 1: linustechtips.com/acer-200hz-ultrawide-curved… OP: GoodBytes

Source 2: anandtech.com/acer-announces-200hz…

• overclocked to 200Hz (normally 144Hz)

• 4ms G2G response time

• actual response time is 12ms

• 2560x1080 - this is a negative since at 35” this res won’t be the best

• 8bit color depth

• big selling point is the overclocked refresh rate

• will be available in NA in December with a price of $1199.99

Comcast tests $30 fee that gets rid of internet data cap

Source 1: linustechtips.com/comcast-tests-30-fee-that… OP: jos

Source 2: theverge.com/comcast-unlimited-data…

•  

Rapid Fire

[Mini news] Google new logo

Source 1: linustechtips.com/mini-news-google-new… OP: GoodBytes

Source 2: theverge.com/new-google-logo-announced

• still wordmark, but now using a sans-serif typeface, looking “more modern and playful”

• more resemblance to the logo of Alphabet, the new parent company

• speculated that the new logo may be intended to look better on small screens since Google is very much a multi-platform service at this point

Starfish-killing robot close to trials on Great Barrier Reef

Source 1: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/443434-autonomous-starfish-killing-robot OP: BBC

• Cotsbot robot, which has a vision system, is designed to seek out starfish and give them a lethal injection.

• Crown-of-thorns starfish have been described as a significant threat to coral

• Field trials of the robot have begun in Moreton Bay in Brisbane to refine its navigation system

  • No starfish in Moreton Bay

  • Once refined, will be unleashed on the Great Barrier Reef

Brazilian wasp venom kills cancer cells by opening them up

Source 1: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/442836-wasp-venom-could-help OP: phys.ord
Source 2: science daily/brazilian wasp venom kills cancer cells

• social wasp polybia paulista protects itself against predators by producing venom known to contain a powerful cancer-fighting ingredient. Called “Polybia-MP-1”

• interacts with lipids that are abnormally distributed on the surface of cancer cells, creating gaping holes that allow molecules crucial for cell function to leak out

• selectively kills cancer without harming normal cells

Star Wars Battlefront won’t have a server browser but will use a “skill based matchmaking system”

Source 1: linustechtips.com/star-wars-battlefront-wont… OP: Bouzoo

Source 2: reddit.com/StarWarsBattlefront/comments…

• “Star Wars Battlefront will not offer a server browser, but will utilize a new skill based matchmaking system” - Sledgehammer70, Community Manager for EA

• Twitter comment thread https://twitter.com/EAStarWars/status/638780598300078080?s=09

ASUS Matrix GTX 980Ti Platinum

Source 1: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/442532-ifa-2015 OP: press.ASUS

• DirectCU II with 10mm heat pipes for 25% cooler performance and 3x less noise than reference cards

• Memory Defroster is an ASUS-exclusive technology that takes overclocking to extremes, defrosts the Matrix card’s memory during subzero overclocking to ensure sustained stability

• Comes with 1-year xsplit gamecaster premium license - $99 value

ASUS ASUS ROG laptops get a new look

Source 1: twitter.com/ASUSUSA/status…

• gunmetal and orange

• seeing this scheme on video cards as well

[Sharif]

Isn't that the wrong video..

 

I missed it,cause I was too sleepy this time 

[yuh25]

Wrong video?

[XTankSlayerX]

This is confusing?

 

I'd imagine you're still setting things up...

 

Good job with the Wan Show today guys!

 

Shoutout to Luke and Richard!!

[comicsansms]

Wrong Video @LinusTech

[TheGeeker]

LOL wrong video @LinusTech as others have said

[astranger200]

derp, wrong vid

[TechDistrict]

GDDR5X must be good shouldn't it. Hope to see new GPUs with it.

[LinusTech]

rofl fixed. It's late

[FloatingPoint]

Hey, where can I get John's epic wallpaper? I need to give it to my brother who will go nuts for it! Anyone know where to find it?

Edit: Never mind, found it. http://imgur.com/r/MURICA/7382cck

[Benemok]

You guys talked about async compute in this one and the difference with AMD cards will make a big difference with ports because the PS4 has 8 async cores with games already using async compute and the xbone has 2 cores so optimisation should be better for AMD cards meaning there won't be bad ports like the latest batman

[Trik'Stari]

I feel like if the intro works flawlessly, it isn't the WAN show anymore.

 

First 10 minutes or so of diagnosing what's going wrong? Yep, still the WAN show.

[PixelVogue]

Missed @LinusTech in this vid! #BringBackLinus 

[BuckGup]

I like to see some competition with companies!

[jumbobreakfast]

I think that weaker async compute is not going to be a bottleneck for most gamers but it could be a deciding factor when buying the best card for VR. For example, there is a technique called Asynchronous Timewarp which requires paralell processing of frames and an efficient scheduling mechanism to be effective. This reduces input lag and judder which become really apparent when moving your head around in VR. With timewarp, you can theoretically render complete frames at 45fps but update the screen at 90fps with intermediate warped frames. Being able to do this within a window of 11ms per frame requires efficient scheduling of the paralell compute functions within the card and perhaps Maxwell will struggle here?

 

On the other hand, Valve developed a stencil mesh technique to remove un-needed pixels at the edge of the screen. These edge pixels on a rectangular screen get dropped when rendered to a VR headset with circular lenses. Its speculated that the dropping of these edge pixels makes timewarp less effective or even useless since it relies on having those edge pixels to do the neccessary warping of the previous frame to generate a timewarped frame. So perhaps better async compute will not be as neccessary for the Vive?

 

Similarily, Nvidia Maxwell has multi-res shading which reduces the resolution of the pixels at the edge of the traditional rectangular images. The idea being that when the rectangular image goes through the Oculus pipeline and is distorted, those edge pixels get squished into obscurity or deleted anyway. However, SteamVR is an open platform and actually supports timewarp for the Oculus DK2 so perhaps you will be able to use either the stencil method or timewarp with the Vive. We'll have to wait and see which method will give the best results on both AMD and Nvidia.

 

We won't know for sure until we see VR benchmarks but we could see a lot of Nvidia fans like myself deciding to upgrade from our 700 series and lower cards to an AMD Fury X to get the very best single GPU for VR.

 

Link showing Stencil mesh method by Valve: He uses the word "Warped" here but just replace it with "distorted" to avoid confusion

Nvidia Maxwell Multi-res shading technique: Again, replace Warped with distorted to avoid confusion with timewarp

ATW is explained better here:

https://developer.oculus.com/blog/asynchronous-timewarp-examined/

Note that they also talk about orientation only timewarp which adjust for head rotation only (common with GearVR and DK1) and that is compared to positional timewarp which also takes into account the changes in depth (becomes more obvious in DK2/CV1 and Vive).

 

Sorry for the long post but the more I thought about it, the more complicated it got. I'm only an enthusiast so I could be wrong on a lot of things too

[Briggsy]

You guys talked about async compute in this one and the difference with AMD cards will make a big difference with ports because the PS4 has 8 async cores with games already using async compute and the xbone has 2 cores so optimisation should be better for AMD cards meaning there won't be bad ports like the latest batman

 

They didn't even talk much about Async Compute or Ashes, except a little near the end of the podcast. I don't blame Luke or any of them for not wanting to say anything right now, especially with Nvidia keeping their lips sealed, and any opinion from tech reviewers getting used as fuel for the Nvidia Roast. I also don't think anyone at LTT knows any more about the topic than we do at this time.

[Akula]

Sponsor, Sponsor, Sponsor, NVIDIA BIAS, Sponsor, Something Minor AMD, Sponsor.

 

I'm done, garbage channel/forum.

 

Go back to grass roots where you at least attempt to hide your utter bias to a company that has clearly paid you off.

[Ebinlaw]

Sponsor, Sponsor, Sponsor, NVIDIA BIAS, Sponsor, Something Minor AMD, Sponsor.

 

I'm done, garbage channel/forum.

 

Go back to grass roots where you at least attempt to hide your utter bias to a company that has clearly paid you off.

Ive been pretty much a lurker here. But I will give them a one chance to convince me. This nVidia bias is pissing me off and also WAN show quality has dropped. Im just about to unsubscribe.

[Yasri]

Should have named this episode The WAN Show: Bad Anime Dub Edition. ;P