The Hydra 200 Multi-GPU solution designed by Lucid seems to be one of the most promising technologies, as it is a chip designed specifically for PC enthusiasts to beautify their desktop computers and improve the graphics performance of the system by merging two different GPUs. . This could be obtained from the same vendors or from different vendors.
It was at Intel’s IDF event last year that this technology came onto the scene. It promises that users can play with their desktop systems very efficiently, both for laptops and desktops. From a performance perspective, the Lucid Hydra 200 chip looks very promising, as it appears to be a solution for some of the upcoming boards, which would provide users with varied options while building their new desktop systems. But certain reviews in Hot Hardware and PC Perspective shed light on some of the problems people encountered despite appreciating its performance potential.
Basically the chip is designed using 65nm process technology, with the new SoC rated for a lower power usage of 6W and simultaneously supporting systems using dual, triple or quad GPU combinations. Universal GPU, CPU and chipset support is enabled by the chip, available in a small footprint, very ideal for integration into the latest motherboards. It is mainly compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating system environments and the DirectX 9c and 10.1 API standards, in addition to the new DirectX 11 API. Lucid has already announced 3 models developed in this new Hydra 200 solution: LT22012, LT22114 and LT24102 , of which LT24102 supports up to 4 GPUs at the same time if connected in 4×8 configuration.
There is no doubt that Multi-GPU technology is still in its infancy, but the solution has already claimed to have reached 85% of scale for an ATI / NVIDIA configuration, while PC Perspective found that it could offer up to 83% standing. against NVIDIA’s own SLI technology.
Although this new technology looks promising and revolutionary in terms of retention solutions for primary users who want to improve the graphical interface of their system, it is still doubtful how this technology would meet the challenges in the market, as the responses from NVIDIA and ATI / AMD are still iffy.