CUDA-Enabled Apps: Measuring Mainstream GPU Performance

More Bing From Badaboom

Nvidia’s headliner in the CUDA space is Badaboom, the idiot-proof tool from Elemental Technologies that served to counter AMD’s hullabaloo with the ATI Avivo Video Converter. In a nutshell, you can import just about any input video type you could ask (even .m2ts from Blu-ray rips), pick your target device (from YouTube to the BlackBerry Bold), and out comes an optimized .mp4 file. It’s about as streamlined and simple as you could possibly make a transcoder, although that doesn’t mean dumbed down. Props go to Elemental and Nvidia for enabling multi-GPU functionality. You can’t span CUDA acceleration for one job across multiple GPUs, but you can run one instance of Badaboom 1.1 for each CUDA-enabled GPU in the system—handy stuff if you have to bang out a bunch of files in a hurry before skipping town.

If all you care about is transcoding and couldn’t give a rip about editing, then Badaboom remains our favorite pick of the day. Many other reviews have looked at the comparative quality of Badaboom’s transcoded visuals, and this isn’t the place to rehash such material. Suffice it to say that the end results look great, and Badaboom puts far less strain than most transcoders on the CPU. After all, most of us don’t have dedicated video systems, especially in our budget-conscious context here. In general, the higher the quality of the transcode, the more Badaboom seems to stress the GPU and leave the CPU to itself. So beyond the world of benchmark testing, this says a lot about the application as a real world solution. Odds are good that you’re going to want to transcode while doing other things, and you don’t want one task crippling all of the others.

  • SpadeM
    The 8800GS or with the new name 9600GSO goes for 60$ and delivers 96 stream processors. Would it be correct to assume that it would perform betwen the 9600 GT and 9800 GTX you reviewed?

    Other then that great article, been waiting for it since we got a sneak preview from Chris last week.
    Reply
  • curnel_D
    And I'll never take Nvidia marketing seriously until they either stop singing about CUDA being the holy grail of computing, or this changes: "Aside from Folding@home and SETI@home, every single application on Nvidia’s consumer CUDA list involves video editing and/or transcoding."
    Reply
  • As more software will use CUDA, we will not only see a great boost in performance for e.g. video performance, but for parallel programing in general. This sky rocket this business into a new age!
    Reply
  • curnel_D
    l0bd0nAs more software will use CUDA, we will not only see a great boost in performance for e.g. video performance, but for parallel programing in general. This sky rocket this business into a new age!Honestly, I dont think a proprietary language will do this. If anything, it's likely to be GPGPU's in general, run by Open Computing Language.(OpenCL)
    Reply
  • one-shot
    Are we both thinking about the same "Pirates 2"? Or am I missing something...
    Reply
  • IzzyCraft
    Who knows it's just a clip he used he could be naming it anything for the hell of it.

    CUDA transcoding is very nice to someone that does H.264 transcoding at a high profile and lacks a 300+ dollar cpu who would spend hours transcoding a dvd on high profile settings.

    Else from that CUDA acceleration has just been more of a feature nothing like a main event. Although can easly be the main attraction to someone that does a good flow of H.264 trasncoding/encoding.

    Encoding/transcoding in h.264 high profile can easily make someone who is very content with their cpu and it's power become sad very quickly when they see the est time for their 30 min clip or something.
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  • I'm using CoreAVC since support was added for CUDA h264 decoding. I kinda feel stupid for buying a high end CPU (at the time) since playing all videos, no matter the resolution or bit-rate, leaves the CPU at near-idle usage.
    Vid card: 8600GTS
    CPU: E6700
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  • IzzyCraft
    Well you lucked in considering not all of the geforce 8 series supports H.264 decoding etc.
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  • ohim
    they should remove Adobe CS4 suite from there since Cuda transcoding is only posible with nvidia CX videocards not with normal gaming cards wich supports cuda.
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  • adbat
    CUDA means Miracle in my language :-) I it will do those
    The sad thing is that ATI does not truly compete in CUDA department and there is not standard for it.
    Reply