Alienware’s Double Fisted X2 Video Array

When I heard about Alienware ’s announcement of their coming X2 Video Array system , I was so surprised thatflies hatched from larvae inside my body and fly right out of my crotch . First of all , Alienware ’s system is two affair , really : the X2 motherboard , based on Intel ’s Tumwater chipset that include two PCI - Express slots ( PCI - Express is essentially the new hot version of AGP ) , and the ‘ Video Array ’ engineering science , which somehow harnesses the power of two video cards working in tandem that Alienware is claiming will leave in performance gains of up to 50 % over a individual - menu result . So , uhm , how ? It ’s not an unheard of trick — the sometime 3dfx VooDoo 2 had a dual - card mode — but from what small I grok about modern pixel shaders and the like , it ’s not potential for the Video Array to do the same ol’ SLI “ line for me , line for you ” partake that the Voodoo did . If any blistering shot biz programmers would wish to explicate to me how they think this could be working , I ’d be happy to listen .

Do n’t expect the system to come cheap , either . Considering the price of a ‘ stock ’ Alienware PC , these could be up in the $ 5k-$6k stove ( although I ’m just speculating ) . Oh , and they wo n’t license the technical school to other vendors , they say .

Also , the picture above link to the full - sizing image captivate by the Gizmodo E3 level squad , just in case you want to get in there and count at the lousy details .