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 liveonc
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I came across this a few days ago. It's not impressive, but has potential & several different "possible" uses: http://www.lucidlogix.com/
MSI has used the Hydra 200 Chip to make this: http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1979
http://www.elitebastards.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1343:lucid-hydra-technology-accelerates-eyefinity-with-nvidia-gpus&catid=1:latest&Itemid=9
There are reviews, which aren't too great, but maybe within time, Lucid "might" be able to make it better.
But this is also an interesting way to go: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/14399/msi_harness_lucid_hydra_for_amd_platform/index.html
If not, there is also this way to go: http://www.lucidlogix.com/product-adventure2000.html if you want to go external.
Future plans also sound interesting. http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-features/49017-lucidlogix-clinches-additional-funding-for-multi-gpu-gaming
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MarkJ  Volunteer moderator
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They now have (according to their website) an Adventure 2500, which is just an expansion mobo. I did drop them an email, but have not received a reply as to how to get one of these things (which probably means they only exist as prototypes).
I was thinking one could have a couple of these connected to a normal PC and stuff them both full of cards and you could possibly get past the 4 card limit.
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Keep us informed if you get any feedback. Putting some cards outside the normal PC case would be nice (we recently had some discussion on this here), even if there are still the bios and driver limitations. Not sure if the Hydra can circumvent them. And how it deals with compute code rather than DirectX.
MrS
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skgivenVolunteer moderator
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Could these be used with their PCIE Controler/ Express Card 34/54 to run GPUGrid apps?
http://www.cubixgpu.com/Solutions/Laptop
http://www.cubixgpu.com/Products/Pro2?PHPSESSID=b450eb805b514a1d14305fc2f65e3042
http://www.cubixgpu.com/Files/pdf/buy_build.pdf pdf file!
Alternatively,
3 PCI Express 16x Riser Card Extender Ribbon Cables could be used with this motherboard, to extend the GPUs into another box (PSU with fans).
The board has 7 PCIE slots, but you cant use them all with big cards as they are double width. So you could have 4 on this board and 3 outside the board (or all outside if you wanted).
An 8 threaded i7 would be perfect; 1 CPU thread per card (Fermi), and 1 for the operating system).
 
http://www2.multithread.co.uk/mtcshop/images/linitx.com/products/PCI_Express_X16_Flexi_Riser_Card_-_11cm_Cable_main.jpg
Obviously the cables would need to be a bit longer!
Also, MSI 890FX-GD70 Showcased
Got a mini-PCIE slot? Course you have,
http://diyvidock.wikispaces.com/Hardware+Requirements
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liveonc
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The Xpander for Octane Render looks sweet!http://www.cubixgpu.com/Products/Octane?PHPSESSID=e066199c7095b9d59f83350e67c5e46a So is the price https://www.cubixgpu.com/Online-Store (if you intended to use a GTX260 that is). The only thing i felt was a shame was that if they have an online store & wanted to bundle a GPU with it, people should at least have a choice on what GPU they wanted bundled with it, & what about the PSU? There's a world of difference if it was meant to use 4 GT240, 2 GTX480, or 2 GTX295. Otherwise it was EXACTLY what I wanted to get, just not yet, I'm broke for now ;-(
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"...The only thing i felt was a shame was that if they have an online store & wanted to bundle a GPU with it, people should at least have a choice on what GPU they wanted bundled with it, & what about the PSU? There's a world of difference if it was meant to use 4 GT240, 2 GTX480, or 2 GTX295. Otherwise it was EXACTLY what I wanted to get, just not yet, I'm broke for now ;-("
Hi Everyone. Just to clarify, there are a variety of GPU options available as upgrades at the Cubix Visual & GPU Compute online store, including Tesla Series. The website is being finished, but some minor clarifications and revisions are still in process with the online store. I believe GPUGRID.net users would be more interested in GPU-Xpander Pro 2, and the 16-channel option shipping in the next 2 weeks.
Best Regards,
Eric Fiegehen
Director, Visual & GPU Compute Solutions
Cubix Corporation
Ph# (775) 888-1000, ext 276
Fax# (775) 888-1001
ericc@cubix.com, sales@cubixgpu.com |
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Thanks for the information, Eric! And 870$ for the base unit is certainly a fair offer in the professional space. Personally I wouldn't spend that much just for a hobby - but that's obviously up to everyone to decide for themselves. Just let me add some comments / questions regarding the product:
- what's in the lower half of the GPU-Xpander Pro 2? If so then it's either custom built or wastes a lot of space.
- Might I suggest using a standard ATX PSU? This way users could choose their own PSU (some default offered by you, obviously), could easily repair the unit in case of PSU failure (just swap it) and could upgrade to more efficient units, as they become available. The price of the PSU might also benefit from economies of scale, since it wouldn't be custom built.
- You might want to include PSU efficiency numbers on your homepage. With 2 Fermi cards the electricity costs can really add up, so users will want to make sure they're not wasting money here.
- There's one large fan at the front of the unit. How fast / loud is it and how is it controlled? A temperature sensor at the back of the unit might be a good idea, although people might want to run at full blast if noise doesn't matter (separate room) and they want to prolong GPU lifetemes.
- The current design looks like a classical PC case, but you've got much more freedom than that. What about building a case where both GPUs are lying flat on the desk? That would require 2 separate small PCBs with one PCIe slot on each, but I don't suppose that's prohibitively expensive. You could then mount a very large fan (think ~250 mm) on top, covering both cards. It would blow fresh air from the outside directly onto the cards and into their intakes. You could leave some vertical room (about 3 slots), so coolers of the Artic Cooling Accelero style would work really well. The PSU could be mounted below this contruction or besides it. Finally it could be placed vertically (fan at the side now) to give it a smaller foot print. That could enable near silent cooling of 500 W of GPU power!
Placing both cards on a flat surface and both with their intakes on top would require either a somewhat large distance between the PCI connectors (both cards parallel, output into same direction) or twisting one card by 180°C (both cards parallel, one output to the back, the other to the front side). In the latter case the PCIe connectors would be really close to each other.
BTW: My slightly OCed 4870 is kept at ~65°C under heavy load (Milkyway@Home) by an Accelero S1 Rev. 2 with 2 120 mm fans @ 1000 rpm. Once the case heats up temperatures rise to ~75°C. And it's really silent.. my Notebook HDD is the 2nd loudest device in my flat, topped only by the fridge.
- Does the above sound interesting? Is it clear what I mean?
Best regards,
MrS
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