Intel Haswell graphics to have unified memory

The Inquirer reports the graphics engine of Intel's Haswell processor will feature two new technologies: Pixelsync and Instantaccess. Pixelsync allows developers to render more realistic textures by enabling them to composite partially transparent pixels without having to enter further subroutines. Instantaccess on the other hand enables the CPU and GPU to read and write to the main memory, basically a move towards having a unified memory architecture.

Intel also announced Instantaccess, where the CPU and GPU can read and write to the main memory. Intel didn't mention it by name, but given that Intel's HD Graphics 4000 supports OpenCL, giving read and write access to system memory to both CPU and GPU is edging towards having a unified memory architecture.

While Intel allows for the CPU and GPU to access main memory, it didn't reveal the addressing scheme, which is important from a developer's viewpoint. Nevertheless slowly but surely, Intel is seemingly edging towards GPU computing, even publishing a whitepaper supporting heterogeneous system architectures.