AMD offers $50K in OpenCL app contest

TAIPEI – Advanced Micro Devices kicked off a contest offering up to $50,000 in prizes to developers with the best applications using the OpenCL interface on its processors that merge x86 and graphics cores.

AMD uses the OpenCL standard to run in parallel general computing job on its graphics cores while archrival Nvidia uses its own tools under the CUDA brand. AMD hosted a developer summit to encourage use of OpenCL and launched the latest versions of its hybrid chips at the event.

As many as 50 apps, including Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9, have been tuned to use OpenCL on AMD's hybrid processors so far, the company said. AMD hired TopCoder to run the contest, and it has rules available now online.

To participate in the contest, developers need to submit an abstract describing their app and download an AMD OpenCL software developers kit and related drivers and runtime software. The contest is open to developers in a wide range of fields including video, imaging, security, data mining, user interfaces, gaming and social networking.

AMD started shipping its first hybrid graphics/x86 processors in January. In mid-June it started shipping a second family, the A series, which will appear in as many as 150 desktop and notebook systems this year, the company said.