Alienware's Video Array Vs Nvidia SLI

[Rookie]

At the first glance Alienwares VA solution is better than Nvidia SLI? VA needs no special hardware/software and it can combine non-nvidia cards.

Pelly,a u here,maybe u can feed us more info?

Quote from Alienware:

Compare Alienware's Video Array to Nvidia's SLI

Similarities:

Goal –
Both technologies have the same objective; to dramatically increase the graphics performance of your PC by using multiple graphics cards working together to draw the same image.

Performance –
The performance increase resulting from either technology could be up to 100%. These gains will be realized in applications that are primarily limited by the GPU. For example, rendering software, CAD/CAM programs, and the latest games like Far Cry, Half-Life 2, and Doom 3.
Both technologies require extra overhead (e.g. textures have to be sent to both video cards). Therefore, some data travels twice through the PCI Express bus and, as a result, the average performance increase could be less than 100%.

Differences:

Flexibility –

Alienware’s Video Array works with video cards from any manufacturer; ATI, NVidia, 3DLabs, Matrox, or others. Since you are not tied to any one manufacturer’s products, you can configure the Video Array with the video cards that work best for your application.
The Video Array uses off-the-shelf video cards and drivers. There is no need to have any special provisions in hardware or software for Video Array to work. When there is a new feature or optimization implemented in the drivers, they become readily available through Video Array.
Alienware’s Video Array is not limited to 2 video cards. Future implementations may take advantage of this and put 4 or more video cards into one system. This would probably be more geared towards professional applications like rendering farms.

Full Solution –
It’s not enough just to get two high-performance video cards to work in parallel. The combined power requirement and increased heat generated by two graphics cards are beyond the capabilities of most PCs on the market today. As a result, Alienware has engineered complete power and liquid cooling systems for Video Array and will be bringing the total system solution to market in the ALX line of high-performance PCs.

Features –
Video Array implements Frame Locking with any video cards, a feat previously available exclusively on extremely high-end professional class video cards. Frame locking synchronizes display refresh and buffer swaps across multiple cards, preventing visual artifacts and ensuring image continuity in multi-monitor (or multiple video card) applications like simulations.

 

[Lezmaka]

At the first glance Alienwares VA solution is better than Nvidia SLI? VA needs no special hardware/software and it can combine non-nvidia cards.

The only practical difference between them is Alienware's system should work with non-nvidia cards.

Both require a motherboard with 2 PCIe x16 slots, as of right now, that requires the Tumwater chipset which requires a Xeon.

Both require extra software in some way. Alienware uses it's own software in addition to the cards drivers. For nvidia, it'll be in the drivers already, but you won't be able to use drivers that don't support it.

Both require extra hardware. nvidia only requires a small pcb connecting both cards. Alienware's requires you to connect both monitors to a box outside of the system that combines both signals. nvidia's could potentially have higher output/image quality, since everything is done digitally.

Besides that, you have to buy an Alienware system, which is bound to make it even more expensive than a self built system using nvidia sli.

 

[AlphaWolf]

At the first glance Alienwares VA solution is better than Nvidia SLI? VA needs no special hardware/software and it can combine non-nvidia cards.

You could say it requires special hardware.

I doubt either of these setups will achieve anywhere near the success of 3dfx's implementation, they had the advantage that most systems on the market supported it. Requiring a mb with 2 peg 16 slots will undoubtedly severely limit your options.

 

[991060]

Alienware's solution needs another card for combining the singals from 2 GPUs

 

[rainz]

You have to buy a Geforce 6800 ( SLI ) with the special connector .. but can you buy just one right now and run it on your PCIe mobo and buy another one later ? Or they absolutely have to work together ?

EDIT: and ATI is working on any dual PCIe GPU solution or not ?

RainZ

 

[991060]

Only using one video card is surely supported, actually that's what nVIDIA advertising about its solution's scalability.

 

[Guden Oden]

Aren't there any PCIe-to-PCIe bridge chips yet? If there was, one could expand one slot into two with any chipset...

 

[gokickrocks]

nvidia's SLI

pro
logically it seems that it would perform better than alienware's solution

con
nvidia says that in order to use SLI the cards have to be the exact same config and brand...so when one decides to upgrade to the second card, they better be lucky to find another one just like the first (assuming they upgrade at least a year after)

alienware video array

pro
any card works (supposedly)....just imagine 2 PowerVR series5 cards working together

con
you have to buy an alienware system

 

[aZZa]

Does any chipset currently out there actually support 32+ channels of PCI-Express?

I believe Tumwater only supports 24...thus one 16xslot actually can only run at 8x(slave)?

I think the SLI and even alienware will need new modified chipset(s) to perform well. NForce4 seems a likely win-win situation for Nvidia in the enthusiast niche of the market?

Until the AMD64 pci-express chipsets come to the market, it is very unlikely people will want to buy server-mainboards (with registered memory??) as intel is currently recalling some of its current chipsets(915/925?), which couldnt handle the technology. The huge cost, power and heat troubles are going to need specially equipped power suppplies and cooling systems for optimal stability.

Basically to use either of these you will need a total system upgrade, except for maybe drives, and keeping ddr ram for an amd64 system, as intel will be pushing ddr2 in future chipsets.

What will these solutions do to future technology and sales? Is Nvidia falling behind with nv5x technology, and thus needing a longer period with the nv4x technology? How will the high-end of the next generation compare to an SLI gf6ultra?

 

[bkd86]

One of the articles stated that the SLI solution would be available in 2006, not 2005. Thats a long time to wait for another video card or bridge card. By that time the next gen cards will be available and faster athlon64 and intel chips. Besides you will have to have special cooling too so either solution won't be cheap. The alienware solution has several different options though. At least their warrantee is good!

 

[Rookie]

At the first glance Alienwares VA solution is better than Nvidia SLI? VA needs no special hardware/software and it can combine non-nvidia cards.

You could say it requires special hardware.

I doubt either of these setups will achieve anywhere near the success of 3dfx's implementation, they had the advantage that most systems on the market supported it. Requiring a mb with 2 peg 16 slots will undoubtedly severely limit your options.

Sorry,I miss the VA launch time due to the trip,yes,I checked again,VA needs a special board called M2.IMHO in theory PCIe supports dual cards be combined together.That means every video chip vendor can have their own multicard solution if they'd like to.

 

[cthellis42]

It the moment I amount "practical" to cost. Alienware's solution is more interesting and versatile, but stuck in a $5000 computer.

nVidia's will have huge initial costs, but should in a year's time be much more easy to swallow. And in the end it should be more efficient, albeit limiting.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

...just imagine 2 PowerVR series5 cards working together

Sorry, I'm having a difficult enough time as it is to imagine ONE PowerVR series 5 card in a PC...

 

[Quitch]

Look at the upside, so long as Series 5 isn't out, it can't under-perform.

 

[KimB]

Aren't there any PCIe-to-PCIe bridge chips yet? If there was, one could expand one slot into two with any chipset...

Well, with this, you'd have fitting problems (the two cards would have to be raised), and you'd have half the bandwidth available to each video card (which wouldn't be such a bad thing on the early PCI Express designs from nVidia).

 

[Unknown Soldier]

What I can't understand is ... Is SLI practicable??

I can't see how .. since buying 2 $400+ cards seems to be out of most peoples reach(budget). Only the wealthy might do this .. but then they'll have to buy a new system(PC) too.

This is all very stupid(imo).

 

[KimB]

It may actually be reasonable, financially, if you want to purchase at, say, $400, and it turns out that two $200 cards would perform higher. Of course, this would require board manufacters to put the SLI connector on the cheaper boards, which isn't the case on my GeForce 6800.