John At The Center

It seems to me that such dramatic performance differences create a new (and less socially significant) kind of Digital Divide. As more applications learn to take advantage of GPU co-processing, the practical advantages of GPU-equipped systems will eventually become overwhelming.

Since the cost of adding a GPU to the system is so low–already well under $50 for an entry-level add-in card and much less for integrated and motherboard-level GPUs–there’s no good reason for OEMs not to include one.

But there is one bad reason: according to Huang, Intel is forcing OEMs of low-cost notebooks and small-form-factor systems to pay for its inferior integrated-graphics chipsets, which don’t include GPUs, even if the OEM intends to use Nvidia’s Ion chipset instead.

via GPUs and the new ‘digital divide’ | Speeds and feeds – CNET News.