Halo 1 & 2 for PC
This topic has moved here: Subject: ATi's dual card technology is coming!
  • Subject: ATi's dual card technology is coming!
Subject: ATi's dual card technology is coming!
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Oh..my..lord

It's finally coming guys. ATi's new technology that seems like it could crush SLI.

For those who don't want to read, basically, ATi's MVP [multi-video processing] will use two cards. However, instead of specific MVP-compatible cards, any will work. Only one card needs to be configured as an MVP master card, the other, a matching normal ATi card, acts as a slave card [sort of like hard drives on IDE channels]. This presents the idea that it will be very easy to get a dual card setup, as you will even be able to get, say, dual X700 Pro's. You won't have to toss one card to get two new MVP compatable ones.

At any rate, you can imagine that if one ATi X850XT can hold off and be on par with dual 6800GT's in a Direct3D game until max settings, and perform close behind in an OpenGL game, imagine what two will do.

0_o

  • 05.07.2005 4:52 PM PDT
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i don't know if it's possible to have any card compatible with each other. They would have to add that link thingie on old cards (which i doubt they will do).

  • 05.07.2005 5:09 PM PDT
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Did you even read the link? They said they'd bypass any need for something like nVidia's SLI connector. They said that you can keep your existing ATi PCI-e card and get the MVP card when you want it. So you won't need to buy two new cards to go dual, only one.

  • 05.07.2005 6:29 PM PDT
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This is all good. Just wait till the new video chipsets come out. Man, graphics will be uber realistic. O now you got me all hyped.

  • 05.07.2005 7:32 PM PDT
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Hey sexy legs, I know this is really off topic but I'm tryin' to get into the Halo CE community and I had an unsucessful earlier thread about everything to download. Anyhoo, I get the CE download but I'm confused about the Halo 2 mod. To play it do you just have to download the maps or is there an actual Halo 2 download? Also, could you maybe give me a link to download some of the most played custom maps? Thanks for your help!

  • 05.07.2005 7:39 PM PDT
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So you're gonna need a PCIe input, right?

[Edited on 5/7/2005]

  • 05.07.2005 7:48 PM PDT
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oh, i see. The combined power of 2 cards is all taken care of through the slots without another connector.

  • 05.07.2005 7:49 PM PDT
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Yeah, it's like there's a special interaction between the PCI-e slots and the motherboard different from a normal SLI board.

Yes, it needs PCI Express. The graphics companies aren't really focusing on AGP much anymore and have turned their attention to PCI-e. In addition, AGP's architecture really wouldn't allow dual cards. Well, not since the Voodoo days have we had them until PCI-e.

Nope, just download the Halo 2 maps for CE. No need for anything else. Just drop the maps into the HaloCE maps folder and you're good to go.

[Edited on 5/7/2005]

  • 05.07.2005 8:07 PM PDT
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I would imagine that the two slots aren't actually connected together. The two slots would be seperate to allow other peripherals and stuff to be used. I think a graphics driver of some sort would tell the comp to think that the 2 graphics cards are one powerful card.

  • 05.07.2005 8:10 PM PDT
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No, I didn't say they'd by actually connected, like side by side. What I meant is that the circuitry on the motherboard...one card's circuitry from the PCI-e slot would go to a feed on the other's, transferring data back and forth, while the other acts as the compiler and leader, since it's the one with the MVP technology. It will have to trick the other card into thinking it's like the chipset sending info to it and receiving it. When one frame is rendered, the slave card sends it's data to the MVP card, which compiles its own frame with the other card's, and then sends it to the monitor.

So, in reality, the normal video card would be controlled and seperated from the system by the MVP card. Kind of odd, but we'll have to see if it's more efficient or if it has a slow down compared to SLI.

  • 05.07.2005 8:24 PM PDT
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I do believe that AGP architecture doesn't allow for this kind of technology. Otherwise it would be old(er) news. There are many advantages of SLI and MVP. Most of which come with upgrade options. You buy one card now, and when you want to upgrade, instead of replacing your old card with a new one, you get another one and put it in. The only thing that could possibly be wrong with this is if the card you have stops being made. I doubt it will get that far though.

  • 05.07.2005 8:36 PM PDT
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In about 3/9 years......The gameworld will be unrealistic...

Man just think about it...Nvidia 579949 49683mb

  • 05.08.2005 6:30 AM PDT
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Posted by: AngelSlayer
In about 3/9 years......The gameworld will be unrealistic...

Man just think about it...Nvidia 579949 49683mb


more like in 3/9 years, no more petroleum, no more electricity, no more halo.

  • 05.08.2005 11:52 AM PDT
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16384MB - theoretically, if you look at GPU memory trends in the past 5 years, if the trend continues, that's how much video memory will be on cards by about 2010 to 2014. Scary. Think how hotter pc's will be, too, unless they move away from silicon. Can't wait for consumer DNA-computers if they can ever get good and working prototype models. Computers of the future seem to be headed towards bio-computing using DNA and molecules as logic gates in a CPU.

Games in the future, the graphics and AI will probably take huge and ever growing teams of designers to make. Sure, there will be helper tools and engines to prevent making everything from scratch, but still.

No more electricity? Why? We don't rely on petroleum that much for power plants. It's mainly coal that we use in the US, at least. It has been that way for a long time, too.

  • 05.08.2005 1:05 PM PDT