Bolt Graphics's Zeus line of GPUs has a chance to shift the future of computer graphics and RISC-V forever if it finds success; rapidly accelerating VFX pipelines and majorly heightening the profile of RISC-V would both be major wins attributable to the startup. For our original deep dive into the spec sheets of all four Zeus GPUs, check that out right here .
Sunny Grimm Contributing Writer Sunny Grimm is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has been building and breaking computers since 2017, serving as the resident youngster at Tom's. From APUs to RGB, Sunny has a handle on all the latest tech news.
bit_user The article said: For our original deep dive into the spec sheets of all four Zeus GPUs, check that out right here. Those specs just scratch the surface, sadly. At the time, I devoured everything I could find and concluded that they're using somewhere between 32 and 128 RISC-V cores per chip and running at 2.6 GHz. How many cores they have depends a lot on the SIMD width you think they implemented. I'll throw a stake in the ground and say it's probably 64 cores with 2x 512-bit pipelines, each. Also, they're using some hardwired engines to do at least a portion of the ray tracing. Based on a patent filing someone found, it seems like they accelerated not only ray-intersection tests, but also BVH construction & traversal. Anyone who's interested in the matter might pick up where I left off: https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/startup-claims-its-zeus-gpu-is-10x-faster-than-nvidias-rtx-5090-bolts-first-gpu-coming-in-2026.3875286/post-23451003 Reply
bit_user The article said: Salvemini highlighted the Zeus team's use of Intel's Open Image Denoise open-source library for denoising ray- and path-traced images … Bolt Graphics is certainly not targeting the saturated AI or gaming markets with the Zeus line, as not a single mention of … "AI" I take your point about this not being an AI accelerator, but I would just point what Intel says about Open Image Denoise: At the heart of the Intel Open Image Denoise library is a collection of efficient deep learning based denoising filters, which were trained to handle a wide range of samples per pixel Source: https://www.openimagedenoise.org/ So, it certainly depends on AI. And if the Bolt hardware isn't running Open Image Denoise, then you'll probably want a fast host for running it, because I found a benchmark of using it to process a 4k image, where a Ryzen 7950X managed only 0.87 fps. Open Image Denoise is AVX-512 optimized. https://openbenchmarking.org/test/pts/oidn&eval=035f9514f25810ee9ac4f62b78784a2faadff9cb Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/bolt-graphics-brings-its-risc-v-graphics-cards-to-ubuntu-summit-zeus-path-tracing-gpus-target-film-and-animation-industry#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- NVIDIA and US Technology Leaders Unveil AI Factory Design to Modernize Government and Secure the Nation
- Self-assembling data centers in space are becoming reality as Rendezvous Robotics partners with Starcloud — Elon Musk chimes in that 'SpaceX will be doing this'
- AI-Powered Mobile Clinics Deliver Breast Cancer Screening to India’s Rural Communities
- Microwave repurposed into slick custom All-in-One PC — door serves as display, motherboard rotates on the turntable, and Stream Deck used for keypad
- MSI Pro MP165 E6 Portable Monitor review: Budget-friendly, average performance
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.