The first dual G4 PowerPC systems from Apple were all heat sinks and fans. In this tradition, a rarefied Intel Skulltrail-based powerhouse from Thirdwave uses two top-line quad-core QX9775 processors and a bevy of Nvidia GPUs--and plenty of fans.
The real estate in Thirdwave's $12,000 Skulltrail system is taken up mostly by fans and power supplies
(Credit: Thirdwave Corp.)The system (photo) in fact looks more like a stand-alone power supply box than a computer. Of course heat dissipation is paramount in enthusiast screamers.
The original Apple dual G4 systems (circa 2001) were a testimony to heat dissipation--and Rube Goldberg. So much heat that the system could quite literally raise the temperature in a small room. (Note: I can testify to this.) And so many fans--as many as nine in the original dual G4 system but less in later G5 versions--that Apple had to quickly release a system redesign to reduce noise (and heat) levels.
Intel's Skulltrail technology is much more advanced of course but fans still occupy a large chunk of real estate.
Skulltrail is a very high-end enthusiast platform based on Intel's 5400 "Seaburg" workstation chipset. The design distinguishes itself with dual CPU sockets that power eight processing cores (two QX9775 chips). Skulltrail also supports the Scalable Link Interface (SLI). The system can be maxed out with two dual-GPU graphics cards from Nvidia (such as the GeForce 9800 GX2) or up to four AMD graphics cards using ATI CrossFireX technology.
System pricing is stratospheric. The "Prime Galleria XS" system from Japan-based Thirdwave is listed at $12,740. The Intel QX9775 processor alone costs $1,499, more than most PCs. And the system uses two of these overclocked to 3.6GHz.
Other specifications: Two Nvidia GeForce 9800 GX2 boards, each housing two graphics processing units (GPUs). Thirdwave lists two Scalable Link Interface (SLI) boards plus one more 9800 GX2.
The system also offers an unusual storage option: one 64GB solid state drive.
Even the mightiest graphics boards bow to Crysis. And Nvidia's newest dual-graphics board is no exception.
First some background. Crysis is a science fiction computer game developed by Germany-based Crytek and published by Electronic Arts. "Crysis is visually stunning, packed with intelligent, thrilling gameplay, and easily one of the greatest shooters ever made," according to GameSpot (which is owned by CNET Networks). For hardware reviewers, it's the ultimate gaming test of a graphics card.
Nvidia's GeForce 9800 GX2 contains two graphics chips.
(Credit: CNET)Though so far the reviews of Nvidia's GeForce 9800 GX2 are positive ("The GeForce 9800 GX2 is an absolute powerhouse, the fastest graphics card you can buy today"--The Tech Report), it stalled when faced with the gaming equivalent of Everest's north face, running Crysis at its highest settings.
"The 9800GX2 is no magic bullet for Crysis," said Rich Brown, a senior editor at CNET Reviews, responding to questions. The GeForce 9800GX2 "was still unable to achieve 60 frames per second, which is generally considered the goal for acceptably smooth gameplay in first person shooters." he said.
CNET Asus EN9800GX2 review here.
Another review discussed similar issues when antialiasing (a technique for smoothing the jagged edges of curved objects) was turned on. "When antialiasing is activated and the card should be showing all it has to offer, its performance drops to the same level as the other cards," according to Tom's Hardware.
Optimally tweaked drivers are another hurdle in getting games to run well on the latest and greatest hardware. Particularly in the case of multi-GPU configurations using Scalable Link Interface (SLI). Nevertheless, Crysis has yet to meet its match at the highest settings using mass-market graphics cards.
Upcoming four-way configurations using SLI may be up to the challenge. We'll see.
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