Nvidia details the performance boost that Volta’s RTX Raytracing tech
Nvidia details the performance boost that Volta’s RTX Raytracing tech
With Microsoft’s DirectX 12 DXR (DirectX Raytracing) extension, Microsoft confirmed that Raytracing can be done on any DirectX 12 compliant graphics card, leaving many to wonder how much Nvidia’s RTX technology impacted end user performance.
Nvidia recently released a developer blog about Nvidia Optix Raytracing and their RTX technology, providing readers with a handy graph which showcases the relative ray-tracing performance of Nvidia hardware. This graph compares most of Nvidia’s current-generation of Quadro series GPUs, including their Volta powered Quadro GV100.
RTX combined Nvidia’s Optix AI denoising technology with the Tensor cores found within Nvidia’s Volta GPUs, providing what Nvidia calls a 3x boost in raytracing performance over the company’s last-generation hardware. This statement seems to overstate the boost somewhat, with Nvidia’s Pascal GP100 and P6000 GPUs offering more than a 3x boost over the Quadro P2000, while the GV100 provides less than an 8x increase over the same GPU.
The OptiX AI denoising technology combined with the new NVIDIA Tensor Cores in the Quadro GV100 and Titan V deliver 3x the performance of previous generation GPUs and enable noiseless fluid interactivity for the first time.
Taking all other factors into account, it is undeniable that Nvidia’s 2-3X ray tracing performance boosts through RTX technology is extremely impressive, so much so that it is unlikely that Nvidia’s next-generation of gaming GPUs would release without Tensor cores. With this technology, it is likely that Nvidia will continue to push the use of Raytracing amongst video game developers, allowing Nvidia to leverage their technology to make further gains in the GPU market.
If GTC was anything to go by Nvidia will also use RTX technology to take over the animation market, which has traditionally used CPUs to create ray-traced images. Using Volta GPUs with RTX technology Nvidia has the opportunity to sell workstation GPUs in large quantities and even larger margins, acting as a huge source of potential income for the company over the next few years.
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