Nvidia unwraps 64x SLI monster GPU rig
Render unto Caesar
1st August 2006 15:45 GMT
What do you get for the graphics buff who has everything? How about Nvidia's Quadro Plex 1000, a racked collection of GPUs in their own box, together capable of rendering 80bn pixels every second and powering monitors with a combined resolution of up to 148 megapixels.
It doesn't come cheap, mind - prices start at $17,500. Nvidia has three models on offer. Two contain two Quadro FX 5500 GPUs, while the mid-range version, the Model II, has two Quadro 4500 X2 GPUs - ie. four graphics cores.
The Model I also contains a Quadro G-Sync board, while the Model II has two G-Sync cards. The Model III has two SDI (Serial Digital Interface) boards for broadcast-quality HD TV work.
Models I and III can do 32x SLI full-screen anti-aliasing, while the Model II goes up to 64x SLI FSAA. The Model II has 1GB of DDR2 graphics memory per GPU, while the other two machines have 512MB of GDDR 3 per GPU.
The machines are controlled from a PC or workstation - 32- or 64-bit, Windows or Linux - connected across a network. Nvidia reckons the boxes will interest not only content creators but folk doing scientific modelling and simulation work.
The Quadro Plex 1000 family is due to ship in September. ®
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