As part II of this update, these are the three upcoming announcements on the GPUOpen and Linux Open Source Strategy from AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group (RTG).
GPUOpen for Gaming
As a continuation of the strategy we started with Mantle, we are giving even more control of the GPU to developers. As console developers have benefited from low-level access to the GPU, AMD wants to continue to bring this level of access to the PC space.
AMD GPUOpen for gaming is giving developers the ability to harness the investments they’ve made on console development, including feature-rich, close-to-the-metal programming, and bring that to life on PC game development. Game developers will now have direct access to GPU hardware, access to a large collection of open source effects, tools, libraries and SDKs.
As such, in early 2016, libraries and samples i.e. source access to the library directly will be made available from AMD. GPUOpen is the primary vehicle to allow low-level access to the GPU.
New Compiler for Heterogeneous Computing
One of the primary goals of Heterogeneous Systems Architecture (HSA) is easing the development of parallel applications through the use of higher level languages. The new AMD “Boltzmann Initiative” suite includes an HCC compiler for C++ development, greatly expanding the field of programmers who can leverage HSA.
The new HCC C++ compiler is a key tool in enabling developers to easily and efficiently apply discrete GPU hardware resources in heterogeneous systems. A Heterogeneous Compute Compiler that compiles an Open Source C++ Compiler for GPUs, and HIP allows developers to convert CUDA code to portable C++. AMD testing shows that in many cases 90 percent or more of CUDA code can be automatically converted into C++ by HIP with the final 10 percent converted manually in the widely popular C++ language.
Linux Driver and Runtime Focused on the Needs of HPC Cluster-Class Computing
Demonstrating its commitment to Linux, AMD developed a new HPC-focused open source driver and system runtime. This new headless Linux driver brings key capabilities to address core high-performance computing needs, including low latency compute dispatch and PCIe® data transfers; peer-to-peer GPU support; Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) from InfiniBand™ that interconnects directly to GPU memory; and Large Single Memory Allocation support.
Availability
An early access program for the “Boltzmann Initiative” tools is planned for Q1 2016.
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