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Dragon Rage
UO Staff
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 524
Location: Atlanta
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 Posted:
Wed May 19, 2004 5:14 pm |
First, major thanks to my girlfriend Nikki for reminding me about this this afternoon. Today's our one year anniversary, and after seeing my complaint on the front page, she though she'd give me the gift of a reminder of Alienware's new technology, the Video Array. The Video Array is something that absolutely blows my mind. Most hardcore PC enthusiasts are aware of what a RAID array is - striping together two hard or more hard drives to work as a single drive. However, Alienware has sought to create something brand new - the ability to run two identical video cards in parallel. Here's what it states in their official FAQ:
| Quote: |
What is Alienware’s Video Array?
Video Array, Alienware’s exclusive patent-pending innovation, enables two high-performance PCI-Express video cards, (exact cards from the same manufacturer) to process graphics commands in parallel, thus significantly increasing the graphics performance. It includes proprietary software and hardware, including a video merger hub which ultimately merges the individual signals into one image.
What is Alienware’s X2 motherboard?
Alienware’s exclusive, patent-pending motherboard, based on Intel’s Tumwater chipset, includes two PCI-Express graphics slots, and was developed specifically by Alienware to support Video Array.
When will Video Array and the X2 motherboard be available?
When launched, Alienware’s Video Array and X2 motherboard will be available only on ALX systems. It will launch in Q4 of 2004.
What is ALX?
ALX is a sub-brand of Alienware high-performance systems. ALX systems will offer an even more highly customized and personalized experience than customers have come to expect from Alienware systems. Much like a distinguished brand, Alienware ALX systems will feature the latest innovations in performance and service from Alienware. Anticipated offerings include; factory over-clocking, water-cooling, custom case accents, dedicated sales and support, factory-installed games and software, 24-hour PC game tips and codes, and much more.
When will ALX launch?
ALX systems will launch June 2004. |
Wow. This looks like some amazing stuff. Go check out the site here, and tell us what you think in the forums. |
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Lalli-Oni(the shixxör)
Guest
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Wed May 19, 2004 7:15 pm |
I know what will really make UO.com famous... pr0n! Ok Dr. I know Nikki will do anything for you  I'll of course suply a years worth... isn't okay having a little fetish in between? |
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Raven
UO Staff
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2235
Location: Clyde, Ohio
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Wed May 19, 2004 8:15 pm |
please ignore lallis comment above kids (especially you DR)
Hes young and immature, and horny, and.... wait i'm all those things too..
/me Aggrees with the above statement |
_________________
nevaR ask Raven
Because he nevaR knows!
Http://www.guardiansofdeath.com |
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Cheetah
Ultimate Fanboy
Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 2831
Location: Halfway between the gutter and stars.
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Wed May 19, 2004 8:47 pm |
WTF does that all have to do with what DR posted?
sick basterds...
anyway, i dont realy see the point of the whole thing, but its cool to know its posible. i mean, i got a 256 MB geforce FX 5950 Ultra.. what use is having 2? and lets say you got like a Geforce 3, and want a better one, you are better of buying a better one, then getting another exact same card, and hooking em up to work togheter.. or am i totaly wrong here?
o btw, DR, 1 year now right? 
hang in there bud, youll make it, youll make it... |
_________________
<CrashOverwrite> ask Raven cause he nevaR knows anything.
<Cheetah01> hes nevaR here either
<CrashOverwrite> true
<Rachel> |
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MachDelta
Novice Spammer
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 55
Location: Canada
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| Posted:
Thu May 20, 2004 1:42 am |
I think this is all gonna depend on how the hardware industry responds to it. First off, the Mobo guys have to put out a few decent 2xVid PCI-E boards for the enthusiasts. Alienware makes nice computers, but not everyone can afford to drop a couple grand on a boutique shop like AW, Falcon, Voodoo, etc. Especially not if they can build a comparable system for less with their own two hands (minus the case with 8 coats of black perl).
The second, and more important thing, is how the video card industry responds. Will they encourage people to purchase two mid-range cards to equal (or surpass) the performance of their flagship models? Somehow I don't think ATI nor nVidia will be too keen on that. No, they'll want people to drop $1000 on two of their top of the line cards, for insane mega ultra hyper performance!!!`11 And we ALL know how well that works. 3Dfx's SLI anyone?
So right now, my opinion is that this feature of PCI-Ex will be largely ignored. Unless ATI and nVidia start offering packaged pairs of video cards (like you can find with RAM today), and the Mobo makers get off their asses and pump the market with capable boards... I think this one is just gonna float off into fantasy land like SLI did. What a pity.  |
_________________
"Life is a near death experience" |
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Cheetah
Ultimate Fanboy
Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 2831
Location: Halfway between the gutter and stars.
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Thu May 20, 2004 1:17 pm |
whats SLI? |
_________________
<CrashOverwrite> ask Raven cause he nevaR knows anything.
<Cheetah01> hes nevaR here either
<CrashOverwrite> true
<Rachel> |
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MachDelta
Novice Spammer
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 55
Location: Canada
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| Posted:
Thu May 20, 2004 4:31 pm |
Scan Line Interweave. It was a way of two video cards rendering the same image in real time. Basically one card drew all the odd numbered lines (1,3,5,7, etc) and the other card drew the even ones. Smack them both together and you got a complete image with each card only doing half as much work as it normally would. |
_________________
"Life is a near death experience" |
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Cheetah
Ultimate Fanboy
Joined: 25 Aug 2003
Posts: 2831
Location: Halfway between the gutter and stars.
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Thu May 20, 2004 6:12 pm |
why dident they go trough with it? sounds like a good idea to me.. |
_________________
<CrashOverwrite> ask Raven cause he nevaR knows anything.
<Cheetah01> hes nevaR here either
<CrashOverwrite> true
<Rachel> |
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Kharnellius
Spam King-In-Training
Joined: 17 May 2003
Posts: 445
Location: Chicago, IL
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Fri May 21, 2004 12:27 am |
| Cheetah wrote: |
WTF does that all have to do with what DR posted?
sick basterds...
anyway, i dont realy see the point of the whole thing, but its cool to know its posible. i mean, i got a 256 MB geforce FX 5950 Ultra.. what use is having 2? and lets say you got like a Geforce 3, and want a better one, you are better of buying a better one, then getting another exact same card, and hooking em up to work togheter.. or am i totaly wrong here?
o btw, DR, 1 year now right?
hang in there bud, youll make it, youll make it... |
In many cases it's a lot cheaper to buy two cheaper cards and have them work faster than one really expensive card. It's why the Voodoo 2s were so popular......pop 2 in at the same time and have serious power for low cost. |
_________________
the mechy - long live DA
"You say something stranger?"
"I'm just curious.....why am Iiiiii soo good?"
Last edited by Kharnellius on Wed Jul 32, 2008 13:19am; edited 237 times in total |
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Raven
UO Staff
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2235
Location: Clyde, Ohio
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| Posted:
Fri May 21, 2004 7:49 am |
same reason Radeon 9600's are popular also, their still able to keep up with the big boys with a little OC'ing |
_________________
nevaR ask Raven
Because he nevaR knows!
Http://www.guardiansofdeath.com |
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