Lucid Hydra 200 in 30 days

[Sylvanas]

AT front page

This chip is going to change the GPU landscape much more than any new GPU launch will, if it does what it says it's simply amazing. Perfect load balancing with Nvidia + AMD GPU, inter generation Multi-GPU. I can't wait.

 

[gigahertz20]

Don't get too excited until we see the numbers, but I'm guessing if a big mobo maker like MSI is including the chip on one of their mobos, it must work decently at least.

 

[thilanliyan]

I'm guessing there is no need for the Xfire/SLI connector between cards?

At least they have it working...and with different GPU vendors no less, and showing it is a start...I'd love to see the performance now though.

 

[geoffry]

I take it this thing does nothing for SLI on a stick cards?

 

[Avalon]

Pretty damn excited to see this finally coming out. It won't be something I'd use anytime soon if it works, but exciting nonetheless, and has huge ramifications for the future.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: thilan29
I read that the 1st iteration will not work well with GPUs from multiple vendors??

Also, I'm guessing there is no need for the Xfire/SLI connector between cards?

AT saw it working with a GTX260 + 4890 in Bioshock and Fear2 so something must be working alright .

 

[Bill Brasky]

It will be interesting to see how the load balancing affects latency because it seems that splitting loads efficiently could require a decent amount of crunching (I might be talking out of my ass here). I also wonder how in the hell they got ati and NV drivers to play nicely in the same system. I really hope this chip can live up to the claims.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas
AT saw it working with a GTX260 + 4890 in Bioshock and Fear2 so something must be working alright .

Yeah I just read that and edited.

Originally posted by: Zaitsev
I also wonder how in the hell they got ati and NV drivers to play nicely in the same system.

I'm running a main ATI card and a 8800GT for PhysX here on my Win7 system...no BSODs or anything. However, I can't open the NV control panel to enable PhysX but I'm able to do it in the registry anyway (I'm using old drivers as well).

 

[Sylvanas]

Here is an interesting post from Techreport

Initially, Lucid's driver will only support multiple GPUs from a single vendor. However, the firm plans to introduce multi-vendor capability in a driver update early in the first quarter of 2010. (A beta version of that driver will roll out before then.) At that point, folks running Windows 7 will be able to pair up Radeons and GeForces to their heart's content.

 

[videogames101]

I need numbers on this thing, if it actually works, it's a titanic shift from classic dual-GPU solutions.

 

[alyarb]

looks like we will start seeing P55 boards with 2 full-speed PEG slots.

 

[RockinZ28]

This looks so promising, hopefully it isn't a big letdown. May get this as soon as possible if the reviews are good.

 

[Nathelion]

I had written this off as vaporware for sure... remember how they talked it up big last year and then we heard squat for a whole year? Well, if it works as advertised, it'll be awesome!

 

[Bateluer]

Would AMD and Nvidia have grounds for some form a lawsuit against them?

 

[JSt0rm]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Would AMD and Nvidia have grounds for some form a lawsuit against them?

who needs grounds for a good ol' fashioned lawsuit?

 

[alyarb]

they aren't infringing upon any patents, just market space.

 

[JSt0rm]

I love technology. Its like the ultimate in capitalism. One moment you are on top and just like that a new technology comes along that could possibly create a shift in how things are done and shake up your entire business.

 

[Majic 7]

According to the Tech Report article on this Lucid is stressing that this tech is platform agnostic and Tech Report is assuming that it will be seen on AMD platforms. I would think Nvidia is screwed with no basis for any lawsuit. If this works as advertised both Nvidia and the ATI part of AMD could see some diminishing sales for a while. I've got a pair of 3870s in another machine that may join the 4870X2 in a couple of months. Glad I didn't jump on the 55 boards right away.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: JSt0rm01

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Would AMD and Nvidia have grounds for some form a lawsuit against them?

who needs grounds for a good ol' fashioned lawsuit?

haha we disagree on a lot but that made me laugh. :laugh:

 

[JSt0rm]

:shocked:

:laugh:

 

[Ika]

Sounds like this thing'll be kinda expensive, though -

Lucid wouldn't tell us the added cost on a motherboard but Lucid gave us the guidance of around $1.50 per PCIe lane. The high end chip has 48 total PCIe lanes, which puts the premium at $72. The low end chip has 24 lanes, translating into a $36 cost for the Hydra 200 chip.

At least, it seems like a lot to me, especially if that's costs to the motherboard manufacturer. $72 can get you an entire motherboard, and might not be worth the benefit.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Originally posted by: Aflac
Sounds like this thing'll be kinda expensive, though -

Lucid wouldn't tell us the added cost on a motherboard but Lucid gave us the guidance of around $1.50 per PCIe lane. The high end chip has 48 total PCIe lanes, which puts the premium at $72. The low end chip has 24 lanes, translating into a $36 cost for the Hydra 200 chip.

At least, it seems like a lot to me, especially if that's costs to the motherboard manufacturer. $72 can get you an entire motherboard, and might not be worth the benefit.

But if the scaling really is as good as they say, you can buy two cheaper video cards instead of one very expensive one.

Or even better, if upgrading your board, you can use your current video card and throw in a new video card with it.

 

[alyarb]

yes. the primary benefit is with the perfect asymmetric scaling. people can take their G92 card and put it to use with GT200b-GT300 or whatever. but at least in the immediate future i can see hydra 200 putting a $100 premium on boards.

 

[thilanliyan]

I'd be willing to pay a $50 premium but I don't know if I'd pay $100 extra...hopefully it isn't that much more expensive. Although if it works as advertised it may be worth the premium. Also, the arrival of DX11 cards (with DX11 features only being able to run on the DX11 card in say a mixed-DX setup) adds another complication to the whole mix I think...hopefully DX12 is a LONG way off.

 

[bfdd]

Nice a P55 board, lets see if any new X58s will come out with this.