Alienware PC To Contain Two Graphics Cards

KingFishKingFish
edited June 2004 in Science & Tech
Alienware Corp. has designed a video array that places two PC graphics cards in parallel on a single motherboard, an innovation that could dramatically increase graphics processing power.
According to an Alienware spokesman, the company believes the video array will offer between 50 to 90 percent more performance than a single graphics card. A custom-designed "X2" motherboard using an Intel-based chipset will support graphics cards from either ATI Technologies Inc. or Nvidia Corp.
Source: PC Magazine

Full Article Extremetech

Comments

  • ishiiiishiii Cold lake, AB, CA
    edited May 2004
    hmmmm
    Interesting. Might be a bit of overkill. if there is such a thing.
    Look forward to reviews of it
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited May 2004
    Ah, another retro step. Anybody remember 2 x Voodoo 2's? ;)
  • TemplarTemplar You first.
    edited May 2004
    floppybootstomp wrote:
    Ah, another retro step. Anybody remember 2 x Voodoo 2's? ;)

    SLI was a very sexy thing :D
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    that's crazy. who's gonna spend $1000 on video cards alone?
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited May 2004
    me if I had the money...

    Gobbles
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    floppybootstomp wrote:
    Ah, another retro step. Anybody remember 2 x Voodoo 2's? ;)

    Yup, they're in my basement just itiching to be used all over again!!
  • DanGDanG I AM CANADIAN Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    Damn, that's going to be a smoking system. Can you imagine 2 PCI-X video cards?
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    kanezfan wrote:
    that's crazy. who's gonna spend $1000 on video cards alone?
    Gobbles wrote:
    me if I had the money...

    Gobbles

    Couldn't agree with you more Gobbles! The instant I saw the name of this thread, my immediate thought was "OMG IT FINNNALY HAPPENED I WANT ONE NOW!"

    And yeah, I remember the Voodoo days, though at the time I had no money of my own, thus no dual cards :(
  • MedlockMedlock Miramar, Florida Member
    edited May 2004
    :skeptic: How's that gonna work if a X800 or 6800 is limited by today's top-end processors. Wouldn't another card just add more strain? Perhaps it would be better in a dual processor system. With two :leet: 's in it! :thumbsup: Would Hyper-threading make any difference here?? :confused2
  • metomeyametomeya New
    edited May 2004
    So many dual devices, is this the wave of the future or something? Dual DDR ram, raptors in RAID mode, (not dual processors though, hey maybe they would boost a dual graphics card system since cpus can barely keep up with new graphics cards) all seem to be the new way of breaking the perforamnce barrier.

    Did somebody say something about the voodoo being able to do a dual graphics card mode? I never heard about that
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    The Voodoo 2's could. You needed two identical cards (had to be from same manufacturer) to do it, but then you could run OpenGL in 1024x768 with excellent results. A friend of mine was running two Diamond Voodoo 2's when Quake 3 came out. Very nice.

    I usually hate on Alienware, and the poor fools who spend lots of money on a system that is basically off-the-shelf parts. But I'll give props where props are due - this is pretty damn cool.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    that's crazy. who's gonna spend $1000 on video cards alone
    For the sake of argument, if the hype translates into reality: wouldn't it also enable two $120 cards in tandem to perform as a $500 card?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    I'm just thinking of 2 9600 XTs in SLI.

    Mmmm, cheap l337ness.
  • metomeyametomeya New
    edited May 2004
    About the dual graphics thing, which graphics card woudl you plug into?

    Both, or just one?
  • Unregistered
    edited June 2004
    So what happens on a different system if you use 2 video cards? I already had an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 and I just purchased a new PC that has one with an open slot.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited June 2004
    You computer doesnt have 2 AGP cards to run 2 top of the line video cards. You could run multiple monitors with another video card but not the same monitor like the Alienware PC will do.
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