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Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 10:24 pm
by Originalplan®
It seems Adobe already integrated Vulkan in Illustrator on OSX.
For their GPU preview!

Check info here on Vulkan; https://www.khronos.org/vulkan/

Hmm...maybe this should be a [REQ] Can we have Vulkan in v4?
Do we need to have it? I dunno...let me know what you think.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 12:23 am
by Oscar J
Please enlighten me - what would be the advantages over OpenCL? :)

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 1:46 am
by Originalplan®
Hi Oscar.
Well its still a new API..but if i understand it right it gives devs direct access to the GPU.
So you get a better performance. Could be useful on OSX i think.
But hey im no expert.. :wink:
Maybe Open CL 2.1...will be better...dunno.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 2:01 am
by Oscar J
Hmm yes, though that chart compares Vulcan with OpenGL which is something completely different than OpenCL. Having tried Indigo 4 on OS X, I'd say performance isn't exactly lacking. :wink:

I'm no expert either though!

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 2:05 am
by Originalplan®
Oscar J wrote: Having tried Indigo 4 on OS X, I'd say performance isn't exactly lacking. :wink:
Well i believe that. 8)
Just bringing the news.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:05 am
by davide445
These are technologies supposed to work on different tasks.

Vulkan or OpenGL or DirectX are API used to render realtime 2d or 3d graphics. Meaning they are used to develop applications GUI or realtime interactive 3D graphics such as in games or in the viewport working area of an 3d application.

OpenCL or CUDA (a Nvidia proprietary technology, working only on Nvidia videocards) does enable parallel processing of any kind of application on devices such as graphics card. This is not made for interactive applications but to crunch huge amount of data and logic, i.e. the work needed for an unbiased render such as Indigo. But can be used also on fluid simulations, or scientific code, or any other hugely parallel task. His counterpart is the "standard" code working on the more general purpose CPU.

So we can say Indigo application is using OpenGL when we are working on it on the GUI to setup the render, and OpenCL + the code working on the machine CPU is used to create the final render using his internal algorithms.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:12 am
by Originalplan®
Thanks davide445 !
So if there is a live preview option ? ( you can move around a scene and see changes)
That would run also on Open CL ?
Or that is under " realtime 2d or 3d graphics " and needs this API?

Sorry for the n00b question. :oops:

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:21 am
by davide445
Other here can give better info about Indigo features and technologies, I'm still a noob on the application itself.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 3:28 am
by Oscar J
I think anything that involves any kind of pathtracing, even if it's realtime, will happen in OpenCL. The only thing that could use Vulcan in Indigo is probably the little OpenGL preview window in the top left corner.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:51 am
by contegufo
Hi

With Illustrator CC 2015 is active as zooming and scrolling GPU.
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/how ... mance.html.

This was already possible with Photoshop CC 2014.

Metal Apple offers very efficient technology available with OS X 10.11 El Capitan, but not all GPUs are supported. For example, my GPU is not on the list of compatible.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:42 pm
by Originalplan®
contegufo wrote:Hi

With Illustrator CC 2015 is active as zooming and scrolling GPU.
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/how ... mance.html.

This was already possible with Photoshop CC 2014.

Metal Apple offers very efficient technology available with OS X 10.11 El Capitan, but not all GPUs are supported. For example, my GPU is not on the list of compatible.
Thanks contegufo.
In therms of illustrator it was a massive speed boost.
But than again it handles vectors.
Yes not all GPUs are supported..minimum OpenCL version of 1.4 and up is required to run it.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 11:36 pm
by contegufo
Hi

GPU acceleration in Photoshop CC 2014 you can even with my hardware but not with Illustrator CC 2014/2015, however, is not important to the current size of A4 / A3 file.

We'll see if the acceleration of Indigo 4 GPU supports Intel and which GPUs.

Re: Vulkan on OSX

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 11:54 pm
by Oscar J
Yeah, from what I've heard the newer Intel GPUs are going to be great for Indigo. But unfortunately a five year old unit is probably too old to be of much use. I have a five year old Mac as well, to which I've added some punch with an eGPU HD7970 via Thunderbolt.