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Alienware released their new tech:
 
Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will  
allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their  
Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands  
in parallel.

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On Wed, 12 May 2004 20:33:50 -0500, Destroy wrote:
 
> Alienware released their new tech:
>  
> Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will  
> allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their  
> Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands  
> in parallel.
 
Do you have a link for this?
 
--  
 
"Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.  
You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."  
-- General George S. Patton, Jr.

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"James Riske" <james_riske@hotmail.com> wrote in message
newsan.2004.05.13.03.18.50.907000@localhost.debian.org...
> Do you have a link for this?
>
 
  It's based on some technology by Metabyte.  I have no idea how it works,
but apparrently they have been messing around with SLI configurations since
the TNT days.
 
  I'm not sure how it works... or IF it works.  Videocards have evolved well
past the point where all they did was basic triangle setup and rendering.
I believe it might work by some proprietary bridge and chipset.

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WOW get 20% increase in speed and pay 400 bucks for the privilage, the
second card
 
 
 
 
On Wed, 12 May 2004 23:25:48 -0400, "magnulus"
<magnulus@bellsouth.net> wrote:
 
>
>"James Riske" <james_riske@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>newsan.2004.05.13.03.18.50.907000@localhost.debian.org...
>> Do you have a link for this?
>>
>
>  It's based on some technology by Metabyte.  I have no idea how it works,
>but apparrently they have been messing around with SLI configurations since
>the TNT days.
>
>  I'm not sure how it works... or IF it works.  Videocards have evolved well
>past the point where all they did was basic triangle setup and rendering.
>I believe it might work by some proprietary bridge and chipset.
>

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"Destroy" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
news:bdAoc.59198$u_4.12711@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> Alienware released their new tech:
>
> Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
> in parallel.
 
WOW! I read a few days ago the Alienware had a huge announcement to make at
E3. This is very interesting news! JLC

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"We Live For The One We Die For The One" <Mr fred@yahoo.com.au> wrote in
message news:k4r5a0duv76s3qn5ojv3fb6al5m6sesm19@4ax.com...
>
> WOW get 20% increase in speed and pay 400 bucks for the privilage, the
> second card
>
You'll pay a whole lot more then $400 if you have to buy one of their
systems to be able to do it! Have you priced a Alienware PC lately! There
not cheap.  JLC

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

I should also add Metabyte made a "vapourware" SLI TNT configuration
several years ago.  They didn't even make a prototype.  So I wouldn't put
any stock in them.

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"Destroy" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
news:bdAoc.59198$u_4.12711@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> Alienware released their new tech:
>
> Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
> in parallel.
>
 
That's Voodootwo-ariffic!

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On Thu, 13 May 2004 13:34:16 +1000, We Live For The One We Die For The
One <Mr fred@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
 
>
>WOW get 20% increase in speed and pay 400 bucks for the privilage, the
>second card
 
Quiet you!  We can't have any voice of reason when it comes to
discussions about the latest PC upgrades.
 
--
best regards, mattchu
np:

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Destroy wrote:
> Alienware released their new tech:
>  
> Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will  
> allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their  
> Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands  
> in parallel.
>  
 
Nah, what Alienware "released" was a press statement saying they are  
planning on developing this tech.  Hopefully it pans out for them and  
maybe we'll see the return of SLI, but it's not here today, or anytime  
too soon. (slated for Q3/Q4)
 
Here's some more info:
 
http://www.alienware.com/press_rel [...] y_0512.asp
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1084398037.html
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid [...] 52&tid=185
 
--
cK

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"cK-Gunslinger" wrote
> Destroy wrote:
> > Alienware released their new tech:
> >
> > Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> > allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> > Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
> > in parallel.
> >
>
> Nah, what Alienware "released" was a press statement saying they are
> planning on developing this tech.  Hopefully it pans out for them and
> maybe we'll see the return of SLI, but it's not here today, or anytime
> too soon. (slated for Q3/Q4)
 
Q3 is soon.

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Vince wrote:
> "cK-Gunslinger" wrote
>  
>>Destroy wrote:
>>
>>>Alienware released their new tech:
>>>
>>
>>Nah, what Alienware "released" was a press statement saying they are
>>planning on developing this tech.  Hopefully it pans out for them and
>>maybe we'll see the return of SLI, but it's not here today, or anytime
>>too soon. (slated for Q3/Q4)
>  
>  
> Q3 is soon.
 
 
Maybe, but the "End of September, 2003" release for HL2 was "soon" a  
year ago.  But I don't see it yet. =P  I'm just saying, release dates  
slip (for both software and hardware), and I've learned to wait until  
there is a shipping product before I beleive too much hype.
 
Otherwise, I'd be playing Duke Nukem Forever, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress  
2, and Doom 3 on my brand new BitBoys' video card, or maybe on my  
Phantom Gaming Console. *grin*
 
--
cK

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"Destroy" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
news:bdAoc.59198$u_4.12711@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> Alienware released their new tech:
>
> Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
> in parallel.
 
It will never work.
 
1. If you only have 1 monitor, then it can only be connected to 1 card
(Doh!)
2. Which means that what work is done by the other card, the results have to
be copied across to the card containing the frame buffer.  Even at
PCI-Express speeds, this will be sloooooow.
 
I don't know what these guys have been smoking.  Maybe they have plans for
multiple-monitor setups.  I could just about believe that.  But for a single
monitor setup, I cannot see this improving anything.
 
Chip

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"cK-Gunslinger" <cK@nowayinhell.com> wrote in message
newsSNoc.4$cZ2.2@dfw-service2.ext.ray.com...
> Destroy wrote:
> > Alienware released their new tech:
> >
> > Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> > allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> > Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
> > in parallel.
> >
>
> Nah, what Alienware "released" was a press statement saying they are
> planning on developing this tech.  Hopefully it pans out for them and
> maybe we'll see the return of SLI, but it's not here today, or anytime
> too soon. (slated for Q3/Q4)
>
> Here's some more info:
>
>
http://www.alienware.com/press_rel [...] y_0512.asp
> http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1084398037.html
>
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid [...] 52&tid=185
>
> --
> cK
 
You can bet that this "extreme performance system" will cost $4,000 +.  JLC

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"Chip" <anneonymouse@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:2gkc16F3mv75U1@uni-berlin.de...
>
> "Destroy" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
> news:bdAoc.59198$u_4.12711@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> > Alienware released their new tech:
> >
> > Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> > allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> > Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
> > in parallel.
>
> It will never work.
>
> 1. If you only have 1 monitor, then it can only be connected to 1 card
> (Doh!)
> 2. Which means that what work is done by the other card, the results have
to
> be copied across to the card containing the frame buffer.  Even at
> PCI-Express speeds, this will be sloooooow.
>
> I don't know what these guys have been smoking.  Maybe they have plans for
> multiple-monitor setups.  I could just about believe that.  But for a
single
> monitor setup, I cannot see this improving anything.
>
> Chip
>
I guess you never had two 3DFX Voodoo cards running in SLI. I did and they
were great back in the day. I'm not saying that this new idea is going to
pan out, but I'm sure they have worked around the monitor connection
problem. The Voodoo cards were build with a connecter on their sides that
allowed you to plug in a second Voodoo card into it. Then you had a small
monitor cable that you ran from the bottom card to the top card. You then
plugged your top card into your monitor.
Worked fantastic! JLC

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"JLC" <j.jc@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:5D7pc.48824$z06.6960904@attbi_s01...
>
> "Chip" <anneonymouse@virgin.net> wrote in message
> news:2gkc16F3mv75U1@uni-berlin.de...
> >
> > "Destroy" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
> > news:bdAoc.59198$u_4.12711@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> > > Alienware released their new tech:
> > >
> > > Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
> > > allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
> > > Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic
commands
> > > in parallel.
> >
> > It will never work.
> >
> > 1. If you only have 1 monitor, then it can only be connected to 1 card
> > (Doh!)
> > 2. Which means that what work is done by the other card, the results
have
> to
> > be copied across to the card containing the frame buffer.  Even at
> > PCI-Express speeds, this will be sloooooow.
> >
> > I don't know what these guys have been smoking.  Maybe they have plans
for
> > multiple-monitor setups.  I could just about believe that.  But for a
> single
> > monitor setup, I cannot see this improving anything.
> >
> > Chip
> >
> I guess you never had two 3DFX Voodoo cards running in SLI. I did and they
> were great back in the day. I'm not saying that this new idea is going to
> pan out, but I'm sure they have worked around the monitor connection
> problem. The Voodoo cards were build with a connecter on their sides that
> allowed you to plug in a second Voodoo card into it. Then you had a small
> monitor cable that you ran from the bottom card to the top card. You then
> plugged your top card into your monitor.
> Worked fantastic! JLC
 
But you forget one *crucial* piece of information.  The 3dfx cards were
*designed* to work in SLI mode!  The hair-brain Alienware idea is that it
will work with normal video cards.  And given that normal video cards have
no clue about how to render alternative scan lines, then only thing I can
image they will do is come up with some fancy driver wrapper than decides
which vertices (and which pixels) will be processed by each card and then
splits the work between the two cards.  And then takes the rendered pixels
from one card and transfers them to the other for z-buffer processing and
final rendering.
 
It will be brilliant.... not.  If this ever sees the light of day, I will be
amazed.
 
Chip

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"JLC" <j.jc@nospam.com> looked up from reading the entrails of the porn
spammer to utter  "The Augury is good, the signs say:
 
>
>"Chip" <anneonymouse@virgin.net> wrote in message
>news:2gkc16F3mv75U1@uni-berlin.de...
>>
>> "Destroy" <no@thanks.com> wrote in message
>> news:bdAoc.59198$u_4.12711@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
>> > Alienware released their new tech:
>> >
>> > Video Array is an accelerated graphics processing subsystem that will
>> > allow users to add multiple, off-the-shelf video cards to their
>> > Alienware computer systems and have both cards process graphic commands
>> > in parallel.
>>
>> It will never work.
>>
>> 1. If you only have 1 monitor, then it can only be connected to 1 card
>> (Doh!)
>> 2. Which means that what work is done by the other card, the results have
>to
>> be copied across to the card containing the frame buffer.  Even at
>> PCI-Express speeds, this will be sloooooow.
>>
>> I don't know what these guys have been smoking.  Maybe they have plans for
>> multiple-monitor setups.  I could just about believe that.  But for a
>single
>> monitor setup, I cannot see this improving anything.
>>
>> Chip
>>
>I guess you never had two 3DFX Voodoo cards running in SLI. I did and they
>were great back in the day. I'm not saying that this new idea is going to
>pan out, but I'm sure they have worked around the monitor connection
>problem. The Voodoo cards were build with a connecter on their sides that
>allowed you to plug in a second Voodoo card into it. Then you had a small
>monitor cable that you ran from the bottom card to the top card. You then
>plugged your top card into your monitor.
>Worked fantastic! JLC
 
There's a bit of a difference between the voodoo2 which was designed to
run solo or be linked to another voodoo2, and some feature on a
motherboard to stick two video cards into, that _were_ _not_ designed to
work together.
 
It the difference between 2 random people, and a set of twins.
 
Xocyll
--  
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr

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On Fri, 14 May 2004 15:15:55 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@kingston.net>
wrote:
 
 
>There's a bit of a difference between the voodoo2 which was designed to
>run solo or be linked to another voodoo2, and some feature on a
>motherboard to stick two video cards into, that _were_ _not_ designed to
>work together.
>
>It the difference between 2 random people, and a set of twins.
>
>Xocyll
 
Personally, I would never want dual vid cards, just as I wouldn't want
dual cpu's. And there are two reasons for that, 2 means twice as much
heat and twice as much noise.