Why people buying GPU beside gaming?

[jaychen]

Hi,

Just curious that beside gaming, what people are buying GPU these days for?

Personally got GPU Card to upgrade my HTPC for Connectivity and Flash/BluRay playback, but any other cool stuff people are using GPU for beside these reasons?

Jay

 

[Chainzsaw]

Hello,

Bitcoin mining, F@H, CAD work, Adobe products (photoshop acceleration), Maya, even scientific computations.

 

[nforce4max]

Pretty much summed up by Chainzsaw, the rest is mainly bragging rights by rich kids.

 

[jaychen]

people still bitcoin mining? I thought that effort almost died out.

 

[wolfram23]

I wish I knew about bitcoin mining 2.5 years ago lol. Or earlier. Still kind of hard to wrap my head aroud it, though.

But yeah as far as I know, people are still going at it.

I'd also say that a GPU can make your screen look better. We stuck a 5770 in my gf's PC, which was running of integrated (Intel GMA, socket 775 stuff) and with the GPU in there the image was a lot nicer, more colourful.

 

[Sunius]

I wish I knew about bitcoin mining 2.5 years ago lol. Or earlier. Still kind of hard to wrap my head aroud it, though.

But yeah as far as I know, people are still going at it.

I'd also say that a GPU can make your screen look better. We stuck a 5770 in my gf's PC, which was running of integrated (Intel GMA, socket 775 stuff) and with the GPU in there the image was a lot nicer, more colourful.

Sorry to say this, but something must have been wrong with the integrated card or the cable. Integrated graphics card don't have worse video quality than discrete cards. They are just slower.

 

[jaychen]

I think I know what Wolfram23 meant, the IGP at the Socket 775 tend to look fuzzy, especially with VGA connection.

Also, the newer GPU tend to have better color profile and digital connections such as DVI and HDMI, so the picture looks lot brighter and cleaner...

J

 

[Pinhedd]

they make great space heaters in the winter. They also make great space heaters in the summer too

 

[wolfram23]

I think I know what Wolfram23 meant, the IGP at the Socket 775 tend to look fuzzy, especially with VGA connection.

Yeah, basically this. The picture became sharper and brighter colours - which, I know, you can modify settings for that sort of thing kind of like more bloom effect. Maybe it was just the transition from VGA to DVI, but I first lent her a GT 240 and it was definitely a better picture, then I took it back (it's my PhysX card), and then we got her a 5770 and again it looked better.

I know in theory it should all be the same, but it's not. Again, maybe just was the VGA connection itself.

 

[nforce4max]

It used to be well known back in the older days the difference in image quality between different gpus. Some were great while others it was terrible. Matrox still commands a tiny niche market to people who go by only the best 2D quality image even now days. The differences are tiny between Nvidia and what is now AMD but they are there. As for Greedtell I don't like their igp junk.