Why supercomputers are the unsung heroes of PC gaming

It's funny how things in reality can be so far removed from what we imagined. A classic example of this is how I imagined there to be a horde of scientists at Nvidia HQ hunched over their PCs and all working to train the next generation of Nvidia DLSS algorithms -- between enjoying bouts of Call of Duty with colleagues, of course. But as it turns out that's only part of the story… Yes, there are scientists at Nvidia working on these projects, but doing a large portion of the work in training and developing new DLSS technology for us PC gamers to enjoy is also an AI supercomputer, and it's been doing that non-stop 24/7 for going on six years now. That nugget of information was delivered by Brian Catanzaro, Nvidia's VP of applied deep learning research at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. Catanzaro dropped that gem on stage casually as a throwaway comment while discussing details about DLSS 4. But as it turns out, that reference has been the catalyst for a ton of talk about the topic.