Intel GPU

[LETNI321]

Hello forum. I would like to raise the topic of Intel graphics processors, which, in my opinion, deserve more attention than they are currently getting. It seems to me that for graphics processors to capture more market attention, there is no need to create yet another analogue of CUDA or ROCm. Instead, we should simply provide enthusiasts with the ability to run compute code on Intel GPUs directly from the Linux kernel module.

For example, conceptually it could look like this:

_module_GP_INTEL
{
// code to be executed on the Intel GPU
}

The compiler generates code for the GPU, the module is loaded into the kernel, the computation is executed on the graphics processor, and the result is returned back.

The main idea is to offer something that nobody is offering today:

Today, a graphics card is an accelerator that is accessed through a large user-space software stack.

I am proposing to make the Intel GPU a natural part of the Linux development environment for enthusiasts and systems programmers. Specifically, through the Linux kernel itself, to make the entire distribution an ecosystem for Intel graphics processors.

As a result, a buyer of an Intel Arc does not just purchase a graphics card. They gain a unique capability:

to write compute programs for the GPU directly within the framework of developing Linux kernel modules.

It is this very capability that becomes the reason to choose Intel.

Even if the graphics card is slightly behind competitors in performance.

This approach could appeal to:

Linux kernel developers;

driver authors;

researchers;

high-performance computing developers;

systems programming enthusiasts;

students studying OS and GPU architecture.

Instead of competing with the already established CUDA ecosystem, one could try to create their own ecosystem from Linux.

Not building a new platform from scratch.

Use the already vast existing community of Linux developers.

All of this could give Intel exactly what it currently lacks: a unique capability that no other manufacturer has.

To compete not with FPS numbers and not only with price, but to compete with a new model in which ordinary, affordable graphics cards offer more possibilities to enthusiasts than the expensive accelerators from NVIDIA and AMD for corporate clients.