by Anton Shilov
05/03/2006 | 04:06 AM
Nvidia Corp., a leading supplier of graphics processors for personal computers (PCs), may introduce revamped flavour of its graphics cards designed for the so-called quad SLI configurations, which include four graphics processing units in a single PC. The new boards will be more compact and easier to manufacture, which may mean more aggressive pricing.
<%BANNER[article]%>According to a picture published by HKEPC web-site, the new GeForce 7950 GX2 boards will be much shorter compared to the recently reviewed GeForce 7900 GX2 graphics cards. Based on the quick view of the picture, it can be noticed that the model 7950 GX2 has much less elements, particularly, in power supply circuitry, something, which may imply that the card carries a special flavour of the G71 chip with trimmed power consumption.
Nvidia quad SLI technology uses special GeForce 7900 GX2 graphics cards, each of which has two GeForce 7900-series graphics processors clocked at 500MHz along with 1GB of 1200MHz 256-bit GDDR3 memory (512MB per chip). It is unclear whether the GeForce 7950 GX2 will sustain similar clock-speeds, or will have it changed.
Quad SLI allows to turn on 32x anti-aliasing, the maximum level possible today, or to play the latest games in 2560x1600 resolution. Currently quad SLI technology is positioned as a state-of-the-art technology for gaming enthusiasts who call for ultimate performance and quality. However, a recent technology review conducted by X-bit labs discovered that the technology may not provide absolutely fastest performance even in 2560x1600 resolution, where GeForce 7900 quad SLI lost to the Radeon X1900 XT CrossFire setup, and also suffers from driver problems.
Nvidia does not comment on unannounced products.