ALIENWARE REACTS- DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SLI AND VIDEO ARRAY,... BUT WHERE´S ATI?

[humanentity]

ALIENWARE VIDEO ARRAY FAQ UPDATED

Basically they emphasyzes that their solution might merge cards from any manufacturer and not only NVdia. But the most impressive part is that they claim it is not limited to just 2 cards, and they speak about merging up to 4! yes, four cards...
that´s the way to go to get a 3 21" display gaming rig with 3 or 4... old cards to play half life 2 in 2 years, the time you need to find this tech affordable... but hey! as long as they work on it are great news, if demand increases prices fall then, we can get on the wave to build our multi gpu rigs

The question is, where the heck is Ati, those guys appear to be sleeping, as the inquirer says:

"ATI has to response to Nvidia PCI-E SLI cards that will wipe out any of its scores. Where is the Sapphire Radeon 9800 MAXX - a dual 9800XT card that could give Nvidia SLI marchitecture a run for its money?

It seems onee -SIC- card is simply not enough any more" THE INQUIRER

The last part is my favourite:
...It seems onee -SIC- card is simply not enough any more

Yeah! let double polygon count + pixel shaders 3.0 and all the stuff and get amazing games.
NVIDIA is even talking with game developers to convince them of taking this performance in count when designing games.

So the main question in 2 years will be, "how many video cards did you plugged in ur rig?"

 

[eastvillager]

ATI doesn't need to knee jerk react to another Nvidia PAPER LAUNCH.


Nvidia says september, I ask of what year...

 

[McArra]

I don't like the SLI idea, too expensive...

 

[humanentity]

Originally posted by: eastvillager
.


Nvidia says september, I ask of what year...

LOL
well in this case Ati could take a breathe but even then they will have to do something. And i hope tht because i own a 9700 PRO and im very satisfied with it, dont wanna use nvidias again(my old geforce was crashing with ut99 again and again). The only big con i find on Ati products is the completely lack of support for -spanned- multimonitor solutions (do not mention hydravision pls)

 

[ZobarStyl]

May be a paper launch, but reviewers saw the SLI connector already installed on the samples sent to them (AT's pictures show it on theirs) so we know that samples of the product have already been manufactured, which is more than we've seen from ATi. From here it's mainly the wait on dual x16 slot boards, which may be hard to find at first, I'll admit, but I'm mainly just wondering how/if ATi will react at all. This is clearly something so expensive it's only geared at professionals (dual quadros) or people with money to burn. The thing is, for single card right now ATi has the edge, but that segment of the market doesn't interest me anyway, since I don't spend more than 250 or so on cards...but for the guy who burns mad cash on his system, plopping down 200-300 more bucks for 2 GT's vs an XT might sound pretty good, since that's just an ungodly amount of power.

And though I agree with you mcarra it gave me a good laugh to hear "it's too expensive" from the guy with a 30 pound heatsink on his 9800pro...:beer:

Edit: yeah humanentity that's why I have to look at the 6800's too, cause ATi multimonitor is lacking and I didn't spend that much on 2 identical 19's to not be able to use them...comon ATi, help a brotha out if you want a sale

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: McArra
I don't like the SLI idea, too expensive...

Too expensive for WHO?



:roll:

It is CHEAP for 3d Graphic Workstations.

And it is a brilliant move by nVidia that ATI will HAVE to counter (whether you like it or not)

:roll:

 

[McArra]

And though I agree with you mcarra it gave me a good laugh to hear "it's too expensive" from the guy with a 30 pound heatsink on his 9800pro...

LOL!!! that's a lot cheaper than two $350+ cards!

And it is a brilliant move by nVidia that ATI will HAVE to counter (whether you like it or not)

I don't know... it seemed like a brilliant move from the good 3Dfx also, but it was too expensive and it didn't have succes. I believe that if we, customers, can't afford it even if we are enthusiasts who will? A few reach people I know... but.... If ATi also does it, we will end up seeing 4cards solutions... I'd rather like multiGPU architectures in a single card.

But that's just me :beer:

Edit: good MultiGPU, not Volari DUO or rage maxx...

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: McArra

And it is a brilliant move by nVidia that ATI will HAVE to counter (whether you like it or not)

I don't know... it seemed like a brilliant move from the good 3Dfx also, but it was too expensive and it didn't have succes. I believe that if we, customers, can't afford it even if we are enthusiasts who will? A few reach people I know... but.... If ATi also does it, we will end up seeing 4cards solutions... I'd rather like multiGPU architectures in a single card.

But that's just me :beer:

Edit: good MultiGPU, not Volari DUO or rage maxx...

Did you miss the part about SLI for Pro 3d Workstations?

SLI was NOT the reason for 3dfx' lack of later success . . . SLI was popular

:roll:

 

[rbV5]

so we know that samples of the product have already been manufactured, which is more than we've seen from ATi...........Edit: yeah humanentity that's why I have to look at the 6800's too, cause ATi multimonitor is lacking and I didn't spend that much on 2 identical 19's to not be able to use them...comon ATi, help a brotha out if you want a sale

Its not BBA Radeon, and last gen....but it is PBA ATI and supports at least Dual DVI output + 1 DVI input!. This is just the quad R300 model (24x MSAA 256MBDDRx4) (that dual AGP Motherboard could be tough to find), and they have up to a 16 VPU model also. They tell me that X800 is supported as well. I know its over a year old tech.

Link

Looks a little big for my case, but might be just what someone needs for their uber-rig. LOL

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: rbV5

so we know that samples of the product have already been manufactured, which is more than we've seen from ATi...........Edit: yeah humanentity that's why I have to look at the 6800's too, cause ATi multimonitor is lacking and I didn't spend that much on 2 identical 19's to not be able to use them...comon ATi, help a brotha out if you want a sale

Its not BBA Radeon, and last gen....but it is PBA ATI and supports at least Dual DVI output + 1 DVI input!. This is just the quad R300 model (24x MSAA 256MBDDRx4) (that dual AGP Motherboard could be tough to find), and they have up to a 16 VPU model also. They tell me that X800 is supported as well. I know its over a year old tech.

Link

Looks a little big for my case, but might be just what someone needs for their uber-rig. LOL

That was developed for the military. I actually linked that months back and people ranked on it

 

[imported_obsidian]

NVIDIA cards more than hold their own without SLI. SLI is just a great idea that could potentially offer a better upgrade path or more performance for those with the money. If you don't like it, you don't have to use it. The cards and motherboards will still work with only one in the system. Really, what the hell is not to like? All this ATI fanboy crap about how this is dumb and how they don't want to spend $350 times two is getting old. All it will do is force ATI's hand to innovate something else. The winners here are the consumers.

 

[reever]

NVIDIA is even talking with game developers to convince them of taking this performance in count when designing games.

So how is that good for the industry?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: eastvillager
ATI doesn't need to knee jerk react to another Nvidia PAPER LAUNCH.

Oh yes, they absolutely do! I guarentee that this "paper launch" has stopped quite a few potential ATI purchasers in their tracks and are now waiting for the products for NV SLI to become available.
I have seen a few people in this forum saying that they fully intended to buy ATI, but now, not so sure.
What other purpose is there to a paper launch anyway? To steal sales away from your competitor in anticipation of new technology. People are so afraid of making a "wrong" purchase that they are willing to wait it out.


Nvidia says september, I ask of what year...

That would be the year of 2004 Mr. Sarcasm

 

[imported_obsidian]

Originally posted by: reever

NVIDIA is even talking with game developers to convince them of taking this performance in count when designing games.

So how is that good for the industry?

Maybe one would think that games running faster is a good thing?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: McArra
I don't like the SLI idea, too expensive...

How much more expensive do you think a 6800nu PCI-e card will be over the AGP version?
Becuase people are deal searching for these things and getting in on them. 209.00 for a 6800nu means you can buy 2 of them for less than what 1 6800Ultra costs. This is assuming they were PCI-e of course.

So that would be 418.00 for 2 6800nu's. New mobo to support 2 x16 PCI-e slots, we are probably looking at around the 200.00 mark. So 618.00 for the setup plus tax and shipping.

6800Ultra @ 500.00 and new single slot PCI-e mobo about 140 bucks. Thats 640.00 and all this is a guess by the way.

Would you rather have a single 6800Ultra PCI-e for 640? or Dual 6800nu's PCI-e for 614.00...

No brainer.

 

[rbV5]

That was developed for the military. I actually linked that months back and people ranked on it

Probably the dreaded dual Molex

 

[FluxCap]

ATI doesn't have to bother, they can keep kicking ass and taking names.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: FluxCap
ATI doesn't have to bother, they can keep kicking ass and taking names.

It must be nice where you are.

 

[Rage187]

"ATI doesn't have to bother, they can keep kicking ass and taking names."


Ok I give up, who's ass are they kicking because this round its not Nv.

Unless you mean their own, which I would agree w/.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: apoppin
SLI was NOT the reason for 3dfx' lack of later success . . . SLI was popular

:roll:

to an insignificant segment of the market. the % of people running sli was well into a single digit slice of the market.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: eastvillager
ATI doesn't need to knee jerk react to another Nvidia PAPER LAUNCH.

exaclty.

while i think when/if this solution arrives (wasn't it stated it was only planned for oem at this point?), it will definately swing the coolness factor and prestige into nvidia's favor. i don't think sli by itself will change the market significantly in any way, you can't ignore the fact nvidia is innovating. this would, in time possibly sway mainstream sales, but it hardly means ati need to make a desperate move. they have plenty of time to see where this is all going, and respond in an appropriate manner.

while ati has only truly held an advantage in the r3xx gen, they are hardly in a defensive position with all their design wins in oem, mobile, console, and desktop markets, and i wouldn't be surprised if they do have some technology they could bring out should this whole thing turns out to have any significant impact.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Rage187
"ATI doesn't have to bother, they can keep kicking ass and taking names."


Ok I give up, who's ass are they kicking because this round its not Nv.

Unless you mean their own, which I would agree w/.

actually they are, from a marketshare standpoint. while "twimtbp" is certainly higher profile than "get in the game", ati has quietly been winning the oem, mobile, & console design wins the past year..

 

[Concillian]

Define market. The entire graphics chip market? The whole enthusiast community is probably a single digit % there. Low teens at best. But within the enthusiast segment of the market (where something like this is CLEARLY targeted) you saw people using SLI Voodoo2s. More people (%wise) than are using things like P4EE now, at least that's my feeling.

 

[Rage187]

"actually they are, from a marketshare standpoint."

we are talking about graphics cards here, not market share.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

The market for gaming systems is constantly growing. Dell certainly didn't jump in because it's a losing proposition. The percentages of market share being thrown around here also fail to account for the fact that while the percentage on the demographic pie chart may not have changed radically in the last 5yrs, it's a much bigger pie now

The fact is that PC gaming has grown tremendously since the voodoo SLI days and there's much more money in it now than ever before. There is no comparison between now and then, the industry has grown, and with it, the on-line multiplayer community's growth, combined with many more homes getting broadband, have made PC and even console gaming much more dynamic than ever before. Ati would be making a serious mistake if they don't embrace this tech IMHO.