AMD Boosts Stream Computing

AMD has announced that software developers can put the ‘pedal to the metal’ for emerging stream computing applications, making use of a new thin hardware interface known as CTM (‘Close To Metal’) to increase processing application performance by as much as eightfold more than traditional 3D application programming interfaces (APIs).

CTM gives developers access to the native instruction set and memory of the massively parallel computational elements in AMD Stream Processors. Using CTM, stream processors effectively become powerful, programmable open architectures like today’s central processing units (CPUs). By opening up the architecture, CTM provides developers with the low-level, deterministic, and repeatable access to hardware that is necessary to develop essential tools such as compilers, debuggers, math libraries, and application platforms.

Today more than 60 companies and research institutions are taking part in CTM trial programs. These organizations are bringing best-of-breed software to market that enable application developers to have a broader choice in how they develop and deploy their applications. This approach serves a wide range of markets, including high-performance computing and consumer software — two segments with significantly different development needs.

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