does cuda contest without cuda card make sense?

Accelerated Computing CUDA CUDA Programming and Performance
1

hi everybody :)
does it make any sense to take part in the cuda mp3 contest when i’m not having a cuda -enabled card? (i’m having two gf 7900gs go).
is there a simulator shipped with the sdk? does it make sense to develop with that simulator (regarding speed messurements and stuff)?

Greets Goddchen

2

Some things will work in emulation but not in reality. Also performance is not easy to predict based on the emulation, so I think it has no practical use.

Also I hope you are from US/Canada, because otherwise you are not allowed to compete…

3

The emulator is designed to allow you to check your program logic using familiar debugging tools like gdb and valgrind. However, E.D. correctly points out that successful operation in the emulator does not guarantee correct operation on a real GPU. (For example, forgetting to include a __syncthreads() can sometimes still yield correct results in emulation when it would not on the real GPU.)

If you can scrounge up a GeForce 8 or 9 with 256 MB of memory, you’ll have a much easier time testing.

4

I just want to second seibert’s opinion. There’s some operators and math operations that do slightly different things on a GPU, that you may be able to make the CPU do identically by working with compiler flags.

These cards can be had for super cheap, and even old corporate desktop machines, frequently liquidated, have PCI Express slots.

5

BTW, this CUDA coding contest idea is neat. NVIDIA should mention it in the announcements forum.

6

not without opening it for the rest of the world :angry:

But who am I kidding, I don’t have time to enter, so I should not be too disappointed, now I can say I would have won ;)

7

Exactly my thought :lol:

8

ok thx guys :) i didn’t recognize that only us ppl can take part in the contest :(

9

Yeah, international contest law is hairy stuff. Lots of countries have differing laws designed to protect their citizens from bogus contests, but it adds some hoops for contest-makers to go through.

10

Yes, I agree too. There are some serious issues concerning Intellectual Property Rights, Patents, copy rights etc, in many countries of the world