The whole world seems set on a course which will take everyone into a highly automated, robotic and artificially intelligent future.
And much of the hardware used in the vehicles driving us to that utopia-like future is being supplied by Nvidia.
By many expert accounts, the chipmaker has taken a clear lead in the chip market and its processors are often the first choice for engineers building solutions in virtually all the current breakthrough technologies – from blockchain and cryptocurrencies to advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous cars.
One of the key components Nvidia supplies and the market currently has an insatiable demand for is graphics processing units.
GPUs were originally designed to accelerate the graphics for computer games, a market segment in which Nvidia has been quite strong for a long time.
The gaming community kept growing and, along with it, so did Nvidia.
Now, those GPUs are used in chipsets and AI boards being offered by Nvidia to top automotive companies which are all developing driverless car technology.
Another company which has been strong in the games market for many years is AMD. So it follows that AMD now is also performing strongly in the advanced technologies market.
Of course, AI hardware is not all about the GPU – a number of different processors are used in a typical solution.
But GPUs are arguably the critical component because they are specifically designed to process large amounts of data quickly – and much of that data is visual.
According to a survey published on Ranker.com, Nvidia is regarded as the best GPU manufacturer, followed by AMD.
Here’s the top 10 GPU manufacturers according Ranker’s list:
- Nvidia
- AMD
- Asus
- Intel
- EVGA
- Gigabyte
- Sapphire
- Zotac
- Via
- Power VR
The ranking was based on approximately 2,100 votes from more than 800 voters, probably mostly computer builders.
It’s not a list Robotics and Automation News produced and we have no opinion on any of the companies or their products.
But Ranker.com says: “So how good are these GPU manufacturers? Well, they’re trusted by some of the best laptop brands in the world. As easy as buying a prebuilt computer can be, there is a definite satisfaction that comes with building your own PC.”