Computers tap into the power of graphics cards

— -- Graphics cards aren't just for games anymore.

Long a tool for faster and more intense video game play, computer processors now harness the power of graphics cards for many new applications. Consumers tap graphics-card power for crisper video and faster photo processing. Scientific researchers use it to find oil, simulate brain waves and forecast weather.

Nvidia, which competes with ATI in the sale of graphics cards, recently cut high-profile deals with computer manufacturers Apple and Toshiba, offering its higher-performing graphics processor — known as a GPU (graphics processing unit) — in new notebooks.

Software powerhouse Adobe just introduced a version of Photoshop that runs smoother and faster by taking advantage of such power.

"A good graphics card will now blow away other computers that don't have them," says John Nack, Adobe senior vice president.

The GPU works in tandem with the computer's CPU (central processing unit) to ease the load, resulting in faster overall speed.

"Now the GPU can be programmed to take advantage of parallel processing," says Dan Vivoli, Nvidia senior vice president. "It's akin to reading a book a page at a time, or reading all the pages at once."

With the new Photoshop, simple tasks such as rotating an image don't take as long. On its newest line of MacBook notebooks, Apple says overall performance is five times faster.

The Adobe and Apple deals foreshadow what consumers will see in 2009, Vivoli says:

•Software maker MotionDSP will introduce a program, code-named Carmel, that dramatically improves the quality of cellphone video.

•ArcSoft, whose programs are often bundled with sales of still and video cameras, has a pending application that increases the resolution of a standard DVD to "near-Blu-ray" quality for PC playback.

•Toshiba's new $1,999 Qosmio X305-Q708 laptop is the company's first to have 3 GPUs, for superfast gaming.

"It uses one GPU for normal things like word processing and e-mail, then kicks in with the double GPU for gaming and video, which allows you to maximize your battery," Vivoli says.