Dragon Rage
UO Staff
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 524
Location: Atlanta
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 Posted:
Mon Jul 05, 2004 12:05 am |
Ah, so, it seems that Nvidia had the last word in dual-GPU technology, last I read here... well, being the Alienware fanboy that I am, I thought I'd go ahead and show off the fact that I do read everything that shows up on the AW site. With that in mind, I have the differences here for those of you interested in what the dealio is with the Alienware Vs. Nvidia debate for using two video cards to render images. Without further ado, I quote from the Alienware site:
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Differences:
Flexibility –
1. Alienware’s Video Array works with video cards from any manufacturer; ATI, NVidia, 3DLabs, Matrox, or others. Since you are not tied to any one manufacturer’s products, you can configure the Video Array with the video cards that work best for your application.
2. The Video Array uses off-the-shelf video cards and drivers. There is no need to have any special provisions in hardware or software for Video Array to work. When there is a new feature or optimization implemented in the drivers, they become readily available through Video Array.
3. Alienware’s Video Array is not limited to 2 video cards. Future implementations may take advantage of this and put 4 or more video cards into one system. This would probably be more geared towards professional applications like rendering farms.
Full Solution –
1. It’s not enough just to get two high-performance video cards to work in parallel. The combined power requirement and increased heat generated by two graphics cards are beyond the capabilities of most PCs on the market today. As a result, Alienware has engineered complete power and liquid cooling systems for Video Array and will be bringing the total system solution to market in the ALX line of high-performance PCs.
Features –
1. Video Array implements Frame Locking with any video cards, a feat previously available exclusively on extremely high-end professional class video cards. Frame locking synchronizes display refresh and buffer swaps across multiple cards, preventing visual artifacts and ensuring image continuity in multi-monitor (or multiple video card) applications like simulations. |
Well then! Looks like while Nvidia may have patented their technology first, Alienware just might have the upper hand. For those of you looking for more information on the Alienware side of things, click the link above, and for those of you who want to know Nvidia's tale, click here. Let us know which one you would choose by commenting using the link below! |
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