8800 GTS G80 and CUDA Does it support CUDA?

I need a straight answer on this. I have a BFG 8800 GTS 640mb (G80) card with 96 CUDA cores. My driver version is 260.99. I use programs such as ArcSoft TotalMediaTheater which are supposed to use the GPU for hardware decoding. I've read conflicting opinions on hardware posts, NVIDIA site info, and other sites about the G80 vs G92 supporting CUDA. What I gather is that the G80 doesn't support CUDA because of CUDA version, but the G92 does. I know my card has CUDA cores, but are they used on the G80? Thanks for the replies.

The G80 does support CUDA but it only supports the very first version of CUDA which is 1.0 whereas the G92 supports CUDA version 1.1. The difference between 1.0 and 1.1 is only on one feature which version 1.0 does not have. The problem is that most CUDA apps don't tell us the minimum version that it requires. If the CUDA app requires version 1.1 as a minimum, then it will not work on the G80. BTW, ArcSoft TotalMediaTheater doesn't use CUDA for decoding video although it does use other hardware features of the graphics card for video decoding. It only uses CUDA for HD up-scaling of video through its SimHD feature. I don't know whether SimHD supports CUDA version 1.0, but my guess is that it does support 1.0. Just try SimHD with your card to find out if it works.

The G80 does support CUDA but it only supports the very first version of CUDA which is 1.0 whereas the G92 supports CUDA version 1.1. The difference between 1.0 and 1.1 is only on one feature which version 1.0 does not have. The problem is that most CUDA apps don't tell us the minimum version that it requires. If the CUDA app requires version 1.1 as a minimum, then it will not work on the G80. BTW, ArcSoft TotalMediaTheater doesn't use CUDA for decoding video although it does use other hardware features of the graphics card for video decoding. It only uses CUDA for HD up-scaling of video through its SimHD feature. I don't know whether SimHD supports CUDA version 1.0, but my guess is that it does support 1.0. Just try SimHD with your card to find out if it works.

I see. One way I wasn't sure if CUDA was supported is that I use ArcSoft's MediaConverter 7. The app is supposed to show an indicator at the bottom of the window if CUDA was supported on the card. I saw no such indicator. I suppose most CUDA apps today use version 1.1. Oh well, I'm in the market for the GTX 460 1mb, which would have to support higher CUDA versions. By the way, the SimHD feature does work well. Thanks for the reply.

I see. One way I wasn't sure if CUDA was supported is that I use ArcSoft's MediaConverter 7. The app is supposed to show an indicator at the bottom of the window if CUDA was supported on the card. I saw no such indicator. I suppose most CUDA apps today use version 1.1. Oh well, I'm in the market for the GTX 460 1mb, which would have to support higher CUDA versions. By the way, the SimHD feature does work well. Thanks for the reply.

[quote name='John Magee' date='19 November 2010 - 07:48 AM' timestamp='1290127696' post='1148622'] I see. One way I wasn't sure if CUDA was supported is that I use ArcSoft's MediaConverter 7. The app is supposed to show an indicator at the bottom of the window if CUDA was supported on the card. I saw no such indicator. I suppose most CUDA apps today use version 1.1. Oh well, I'm in the market for the GTX 460 1mb, which would have to support higher CUDA versions. By the way, the SimHD feature does work well. Thanks for the reply. In ArcSoft MediaConverter 7, there should be a checkbox which says "Use GPU Encoding" near the bottom left side of the window. By checking that box, it will use CUDA on Nvidia cards. If you don't see the checkbox there, then I guess it requires version 1.1 as a minimum. The GTX 460 supports the latest CUDA which is version 2.1.

[quote name='John Magee' date='19 November 2010 - 07:48 AM' timestamp='1290127696' post='1148622'] I see. One way I wasn't sure if CUDA was supported is that I use ArcSoft's MediaConverter 7. The app is supposed to show an indicator at the bottom of the window if CUDA was supported on the card. I saw no such indicator. I suppose most CUDA apps today use version 1.1. Oh well, I'm in the market for the GTX 460 1mb, which would have to support higher CUDA versions. By the way, the SimHD feature does work well. Thanks for the reply. In ArcSoft MediaConverter 7, there should be a checkbox which says "Use GPU Encoding" near the bottom left side of the window. By checking that box, it will use CUDA on Nvidia cards. If you don't see the checkbox there, then I guess it requires version 1.1 as a minimum. The GTX 460 supports the latest CUDA which is version 2.1.

That was the program option I was talking about. It didn't show up. I think your reasoning is right on. GTX 460 it is.

That was the program option I was talking about. It didn't show up. I think your reasoning is right on. GTX 460 it is.

I need a straight answer on this. I have a BFG 8800 GTS 640mb (G80) card with 96 CUDA cores. My driver version is 260.99. I use programs such as ArcSoft TotalMediaTheater which are supposed to use the GPU for hardware decoding. I've read conflicting opinions on hardware posts, NVIDIA site info, and other sites about the G80 vs G92 supporting CUDA. What I gather is that the G80 doesn't support CUDA because of CUDA version, but the G92 does. I know my card has CUDA cores, but are they used on the G80? Thanks for the replies.