Over at AnandTech, they take a look at the triple-SLI graphics configuration made possible with nVidia’s newest 780i chipset. Three GeForce 8800 cards in one box. That’s some serious drool inducing graphics processing power. Minimum power supply specs? A whopping 1.1 kW! That’s more than most microwaves ovens in the average kitchen.
According to the power consumption tests they did, the system draws a little over 400 W just idling and over 700 W under load playing Bioshock.
Ok, it’s a pretty extreme configuration that probably doesn’t appeal to anybody except the most hardcore of gamers (and maybe the number-crunching performance junkies out there). What do normal people need with three GPUs in a system anyway. If you’ve got one of these, you’re not going to be doing anything else with it anyway because there’s no room left for any other PCI/PCIe cards.
I bet a fully outfitted system would be pretty cool for doing 3D word (wicked cool gaming too of course), but would probably cost as much as a small car. I think I could have some fun with one. Will 3x SLI catch on? Outside of the small niche market of hardcore gamers and performance junkies I doubt it. With nVidia’s CUDA though, it might appeal to number crunchers looking for supercomputer-class processing in a (relatively) cheap desktop solution.
I wonder if a generator will be listed as an option…
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